SER'S 


E  OF  KING  ALFRED 


AlBEKT  S.  COOK 


^LIBRARY 

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CALIFORNIA 

SAN  DIEGO 

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ASSER'S 

LIFE  OF  KING  ALFRED 


TRANSLATED   FROM  THE  TEXT   OF 
STEVENSON'S  EDITION 


BY 


ALBEKT   S.  COOK 

Professor  of  the  English  Laxguage  and  Literature  in 
Yale  University 


GINN  &  COMPANY 

BOSTON  •  NEW  YORK  •  CHICAGO  •  LONDON 


copyrioht,  1906 
By  albert  S.  cook 


ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED 


gtie   iatfttnaum   jgreaa 

GINN  &   COMPANY  •  PRO- 
PRIETORS  .  BOSTON  •  U.S.A. 


TO   THE   FEIENDS 

OF 

HONEST   AND   CAPABLE   GOVERNMENT 

IN   AMERICA 


PREFACE 


The  issue  of  Stevenson's  long  and  eagerly  expected 
edition  of  Asser's  Life  of  King  Alfred  has  provided  an 
opportunity  to  supply  the  ever  increasing  number  of  the 
great  king's  admirers  with  a  more  satisfactory  rendering 
into  English  of  this,  perhaps  the  most  precious  document, 
notwithstanding  all  its  faults,  for  the  comprehension  of  his 
life  and  character. 

The  authenticity  of  the  Life  was  impugned  by  Thomas 
Wright  in  1841,  by  Sir  Henry  Howorth  in  1876-77,  and 
by  an  unknown  writer  in  1898,  and  it  had  become  somewhat 
the  fashion  to  regard  it  as  a  production  of  a  later  period, 
and  therefore  entitled  to  but  little  credence.  The  doubts 
as  to  its  authenticity  have  been  satisfactorily  dispelled  by 
the  two  eminent  scholars  who  have  most  recently  discussed 
the  difficulties,  Plummer  and  Stevenson. 

The  former,  in  his  Life  and  Times  of  Alfred  the  Great, 
Oxford,  1902,  says  (p.  52) :  '  The  work  which  bears 
Asser's  name  cannot  be  later  than  974,  and  the  attempt  to 
treat  it  as  a  forgery  of  the  eleventh  or  twelfth  century 
must  be  regarded  as  having  broken  down.  I  may  add  that 
I  started  with  a  strong  prejudice  against  the  authenticity 
of  Asser,  so  that  my  conclusions  have  at  any  rate  been 
impartially  arrived  at.'  The  latter,  in  his  noble  edition 
(Oxford,  1904),  remarks  (p.  vii)  :  '  In  discussing  the  work 
I  have  attempted  to  approach  it  without  any  bias  for  or 
against  it,  and  throughout  my  endeavor  has  been  to  subject 
every  portion  of  it  to   as   searching  an  examination  as 


vi  PREFACE 

my  knowledge  and  critical  powers  would  permit.  The  net 
result  has  been  to  convince  me  that,  although  there  may  be 
no  very  definite  proof  that  the  work  was  written  by  Bishop 
Asser  in  the  lifetime  of  King  Alfred,  there  is  no  anach- 
ronism or  other  proof  that  it  is  a  spurious  compilation 
of  later  date.  The  serious  charges  brought  against  its 
authenticity  break  down  altogether  under  examination, 
while  there  remain  several  features  that  point  with  vary- 
ing strength  to  the  conclusion  that  it  is,  despite  its  difficul- 
ties and  corruptions,  really  a  work  of  the  time  it  purports 
to  be.  This  result  is  confirmed  by  the  important  corrobo- 
ration of  some  of  its  statements  by  contemporary  Frankish 
chroniclers.  Thus  the  profession  of  belief  in  its  authen- 
ticity by  such  eminent  historians  as  Kemble,  Pauli,  Stubbs, 
and  Freeman  agrees  with  my  own  conclusion.' 

Notwithstanding  their  general  rehabilitation  of  the  work, 
however,  neither  critic  is  prepared  to  trust  it  implicitly. 
Plummer  says  (p.  62)  :  '  On  the  whole,  then,  Asser  is  an 
authority  to  be  used  with  criticism  and  caution  ;  partly 
because  we  have  always  to  be  alive  to  the  possibility  of 
interpolation,  partly  because  the  writer's  Celtic  imagination 
is  apt  to  run  away  with  him.'  And  thus  Stevenson  (p.  cxxx): 
'  The  work  still  presents  some  difficulties.  Carelessness  of 
transcription  may  possibly  explain  those  that  are  merely 
verbal,  but  there  still  remain  certain  passages  that  lay  the 
author  open  to  the  charge  of  exaggeration,  such  as  his  men- 
tion of  gold-covered  and  silver-covered  buildings,  if  that  be 
the  literal  meaning  of  the  passage,  and  his  statement  that 
Alfred  might,  if  he  had  chosen,  have  been  king  before  his 
elder  brother  ^thelred,  with  whom,  it  is  clear,  he  was  on 
most  intimate  terms.' 

The  style  of  the  book  is  not  uniform.  The  passages 
translated  from  the  Chronicle  are  simpler,  while  in  the 
more  original  parts  the  author  displays  an  unfortunate 
tendency  to  a  turgid  and  at  times  bombastic  manner  of 


PREFACE  vii 

writing.  Indeed,  it  displays,  in  many  passages,  the  traits  of 
that  Hesperic  Latinity  which,  invented  or  made  fashion- 
able in  the  sixth  century,  probably  by  a  British  monk  in 
the  southwestern  part  of  England,  was  more  or  less  current 
in  England  from  the  time  of  Aldhelm  until  the  Norman 
Conquest.  This  Hesperic,  or  Celtic,  Latinity  has  been  com- 
pared to  the  mock  euphuism  of  Sir  Piercie  Shafton  in 
Scott's  Monastery  (Professor  H.  A.  Strong,  in  Amencan 
Journal  of  Philology  26.  205),  and  may  be  illustrated  by 
Professor  Strong's  translation  into  English  of  certain  sen- 
tences from  the  Hisperica  Famina,  the  production,  as  it  is 
believed,  of  the  monk  referred  to  above :  *  This  precious 
shower  of  words  glitters,  by  no  awkward  barriers  confining 
the  diction,  and  husbands  its  strength  by  an  exquisite  bal- 
ance and  by  equable  device,  trilling  sweet  descant  of 
Ausonian  speech  through  the  speaker's  throat  by  this 
shower  of  words  passing  through  Latin  throats ;  just  as 
countless  swarms  of  bees  go  here  and  there  in  their  hollow 
hives,  and  sip  the  honey-streams  in  their  homes,  and  set  in 
order,  as  they  are  wont,  their  combs  with  their  beaks.' 

With  the  passage  just  quoted  may  be  compared  an  extract 
from  chapter  88  of  Asser,  the  translation  of  which  is  given 
below  (pp.  49,  50)  :  '  Ac  delude  cotidie  inter  nos  sermo- 
cinando,  ad  hgec  investigando  aliis  inventis  seque  placabi- 
libus  testimoniis,  quaternio  ille  refertus  succrevit,  nee 
immerito,  sicut  scriptum  est,  "super  modicum  fundamen- 
tum  aedificat  Justus  et  paulatim  ad  majora  defluit,"  velut 
apis  fertilissima  longe  lateque  gronnios  interrogando  dis- 
currens,  multimodos  divinae  scripturae  flosculos  inhianter 
et  incessabiliter  congregavit,  quis  prsecordii  sui  cellulas 
densatim  replevit.'  Such  Latin  as  this  is  difficult  to  trans- 
late into  satisfactory  English,  If  one  renders  it  literally, 
the  result  is  apt  to  look  rather  absurd  ;  and  beyond  a  cer- 
tain point  condensation  is  impracticable,  or  else  misrepre- 
sents the  original,  faults  and  merits  alike. 


Vlll  PREFACE 

Hitherto  there  have  been  three  translations  of  Asser  into 
English — that  by  J.  A.  Giles  in  Bohn's  Six  Old  English 
Chronicles,  London,  1848;  that  by  Joseph  Stevenson  in 
Church  Historians  of  England,  Vol.  2,  London,  1854 ;  and 
that  by  Edward  Conybeare,  Alfred  in  the  Chroniclers, 
London,  1900.  As  the  basis  of  my  work  I  have  taken  the 
translation  of  Giles,  sometimes  following  it  rather  closely, 
and  at  other  times  departing  from  it  more  or  less  widely. 

The  reader  familiar  with  the  traditional  Asser  will  miss 
some  matter  with  which  he  is  familiar,  such  as  the  story  of 
Alfred  and  the  cakes,  that  of  the  raven-banner  of  the  Danes, 
etc.  These  are  derived  from  interpolations  made  in  the 
manuscript  by  Archbishop  Parker,  which  modern  critical 
scholarship  has  at  length  excised.  For  all  matters  regard- 
ing the  manuscript,  the  earlier  editions,  etc,  as  well  as  for 
copious  illustrative  notes  on  the  text,  the  reader  is  referred 
to  Stevenson's  edition. 

Insertions  made  in  the  text  by  Stevenson,  on  what  he 
considers  sufficient  grounds,  are  indicated  by  <  >.  The 
chapter-divisions  and  -numbering  are  Stevenson's ;  the 
chapter-headings  mine.  Where  modern  forms  of  proper 
names  exist,  I  have  not  hesitated  to  adopt  them,  and  in 
general  have  tended  rather  to  normalize  them  than  scrupu- 
lously to  follow  the  sometimes  various  spellings  of  the  text. 
The  notes  have  almost  always  been  derived  from  Steven- 
son's edition,  whether  or  not  explicit  acknowledgment  has 
been  made,  but  now  and  then,  as  in  the  case  of  the  long 
note  on  chapter  56,  are  my  own, 

Yale  University 

July  4,  1905 


CONTENTS 


9. 
10. 
11. 
12. 
13. 
14. 
15. 
16. 
17. 
18. 
19. 
20. 
21. 
/22. 
23. 
24. 
25. 
26. 
27. 
28. 


Alfred's  Birth  and  Genealogy 

Genealogy  of  Alfred's  Mother    . 

The  Danes  at  Wicganbeorg  and  Sheppey 

The  Danes  sack  Canterbury 

Battle  of  Aclea       ..... 

Defeat  of  the  Danes  at  Sandwich 

^thelwulf  assists  Burgred 

Alfred  at  Rome ..... 

Other  Events  of  853       ...         . 

The  Heathen  winter  in  Sheppey 

vEthelwulf  journeys  to  Rome 

Rebellion  of  ^Ethelbald      . 

Judith's  Position  in  Wessex  . 

Offa  and  Eadburh      .... 

Eadburh's  Further  Life  .... 

^thelwulf's  Will        .... 

^thelbald  marries  Judith 

^thelbert's  Reign      .... 

-^thelbert's  Death  .... 

The  Danes  in  Kent    .... 

^thelred's  Accession     .... 

AKred's  Rearing         .         . 

Alfred  and  the  Book  of  Saxon  Poems     . 

Alfred's  Handbook    .... 

Alfred's  Love  of  Learning 

The  Danes  occupy  York 

Defeat  of  the  Northumbrians 

Death  of  Ealhstan      .... 


PAGE 

1 
2 

.  3 
3 
4 
4 
4 
5 

.  5 
6 
6 
6 
7 


10 
11 
12 
12 
12 
13 
13 
14 
14 
15 
16 
16 
17 


CONTENTS 


29.  Alfred  marries        ...... 

30.  The  Danes  at  Nottingham 

31.  The  Danes  at  York 

32.  The  Danes  at  Thetford      .... 

33.  The  Danes  triumph        ..... 

34.  Ceolnoth  dies     ... 

35.  The  Danes  defeated  at  Englefield  . 

36.  Battle  of  Reading       ..... 

37.  Battle  of  Ashdown 

38.  Alfred  begins  the  Attack  .... 

39.  The  Heathen  Rout  and  Loss 

40.  Battle  of  Basing 

41.  JEthelred's  Death 

42.  Alfred  comes  to  the  Throne ;  Battle  of  Wilton 

43.  Peace  made    ....... 

44.  The  Heathen  winter  in  London 

45.  The  Heathen  winter  in  Lindsey     . 

46.  The  Danes  in  Mercia  .... 

47.  The  Danes  in  North umbria  and  Cambridge  . 

48.  Alfred's  Battle  at  Sea         .... 

49.  Movements  of  the  Danes        .... 

50.  Halfdene  partitions  Northumbria 

51.  Division  of  Mercia  ..... 

52.  The  Danes  at  Chippenham 

53.  Alfred  in  Somersetshire  .... 

54.  The  Danes  defeated  at  Cynwit  . 

55.  Alfred  at  Athelney         ..... 

56.  Battle  of  Edington,  and  Treaty  with  Guthrum 

57.  The  Danes  go  to  Cirencester  .... 

58.  Danes  at  Fulham        ..... 

59.  An  Eclipse 

60.  The  Danes  in  East  Anglia 

61.  The  Smaller  Army  leaves  England 

62.  The  Danes  fight  with  the  Franks 

63.  The  Danes  on  the  Meuse        .... 

64.  Alfred's  Naval  Battle  with  the  Danes 


CONTENTS 


Zl 


65.  The  Danes  at  Cond6 

66.  Deliverance  of  Rochester   ..... 

67.  AKred's  Naval  Battle  at  the  Mouth  of  the  Stour 

68.  Death  of  Carloman,  of  Louis  11,  and  of  Louis  III 

69.  The  Danes  in  Old  Saxony      .... 

70.  Charles,  King  of  the  Alemanni  .... 

71.  Death  of  Pope  Marinus  .... 

72.  The  Danes  break  their  Treaty   .... 

73.  Asser  makes  a  New  Beginning 
74:.  Alfred's  Maladies 

75.  Alfred's  Children  and  their  Education  . 

76.  Alfred's  Varied  Pursuits 

77.  Alfred's    Scholarly   Associates:     Werfrith,    Plegmund, 

^thelstan,  and  Werwulf  . 

78.  Grimbald  and  John,  the  Old  Saxon  . 

79.  Asser's  Negotiations  with  King  Alfred  . 

80.  The  Welsh  Princes  who  submit  to  Alfred  . 

81.  How  Alfred  rewards  Submission    . 

82.  The  Siege  of  Paris     ..... 

83.  Alfred  rebuilds  London 

84.  The  Danes  leave  Paris       .... 

85.  Division  of  the  Empire  .... 

86.  Alfred  sends  Alms  to  Rome 

87.  Alfred  begins  to  translate  from  Latin    . 

88.  Alfred's  Manual 

89.  Alfred's  Handbook         .... 

90.  Illustration  from  the  Penitent  Thief 

91.  Alfred's  Troubles 

92.  Alfred  builds  Two  Monasteries 

93.  Monasticism  was  decayed 

94.  Monks  brought  from  beyond  Sea 

95.  A  Crime  committed  at  Athelney    . 

96.  The  Plot  of  a  Priest  and  a  Deacon     . 

97.  The  Execution  of  the  Plot      . 

98.  The  Convent  at  Shaftesbury 

99.  Alfred  divides  his  Time  and  his  Revenues 


32 
32 
32 
33 
33 
34 
34 
34 
34 
35 
37 
38 

41 
42 
42 
44 
45 
46 
47 
47 
47 
48 
48 
48 
50 
51 
51 
54 
55 
55 
55 
56 
57 
58 
58 


xii  CONTENTS 

100.  The  Threefold  Division  of  Officers  at  Court     .  .  59 

101.  The  Distribution  for  Secular  Purposes           .         .  .59 

102.  The  Distribution  for  Religious  Purposes           .  .  60 

103.  Alfred's  Dedication  of  Personal  Service        .         .  .61 

104.  Alfred's  Measure  of  Time 61 

105.  Alfred  judges  the  Poor  with  Equity      .         .         .  .63 

106.  His  Correction  of  Unjust  and  Incompetent  Judges  .  63 

APPENDIXES .67 

Appendix  I :  Alfred's  Preface  to  his  Translation  of 
Gregory's  Pastoral  Care        .         .         .         .         .  69 

Appendix  II :  Letter  from  Fulco,  Ai'chbishop  of  Rheims, 
to  Alfred 72 

INDEX 79 


ASSEE'S  LIFE  OF  KING  ALFRED 


To  my  lord  Alfred,  king  of  the  Anglo-Saxons,  the  worshipful  and 
pious  ruler  of  all  Christians  in  the  island  of  Britain,  Asser,  least 
of  all  the  servants  of  God,  wisheth  thousandfold  prosperity  for 
both  lives,  according  to  the  desires  of  his  heart. 

1.  Alfred's  Birth  and  Genealogy.^  —  In  the  year  of  our 
Lord's  incarnation  849,  Alfred,  King  of  the  Anglo-Saxons, 
was  born  at  the  royal  vill  of  Wantage,  in  Berkshire  (which 
receives  its  name  from  Berroc  Wood,  where  the  box- 
tree  grows  very  abundantly).  His  genealogy  is  traced  in 
the  following  order  :  King  Alfred  was  the  son  of  King 
^thelwulf ;  he  of  Egbert;  he  of  Ealhmund;  h.e  of  Eafa; 
he  of  Eoppa;  he  of  Ingild.  Ingild  and  Ine,  the  famous 
king  of  the  West  Saxons,  were  two  brothers.  Ine  went  to 
Kome,  and  there  ending  the  present  life  honorably,  entered 
into  the  heavenly  fatherland  to  reign  with  Christ.  Ingild 
and  Ine  were  the  sons  of  Coenred ;  he  of  Ceolwald ;  he  of 
Cutha^ ;  he  of  Cuthwine  ;  he  of  Ceawlin ;  he  of  Cynric ;  he 
of  Creoda;  he  of  Cerdic;  he  of  Elesa;  <he  of  Esla;>  he  of 
Gewis,  from  whom  the  Welsh  name  all  that  people  Ge- 
gwis  ^ ;  <he  of  Wig ;  he  of  Freawine ;  he  of  Freothegar  ;>  he 

1  Based  on  the  Chronicle  under  855. 

2  MS.  Cudam.     So  always,  but  see  the  Chronicle. 

8  Bede,  Eccl.  Hist.  3.  7 :  '  The  West  Saxons,  formerly  called 
Gewissae.'  Plummer  comments  in  his  edition,  2.  89  :  '  It  is  probably 
connected  with  the  "visi"  of  "Visigoths,"  meaning  "west,"  and 
hence  would  indicate  the  western  confederation  of  Saxon  tribes  ; 
.  .  .  "Gewis"  is  probably  an  eponymous  hero  manufactured  out  of 
the  tribe-name.'  The  gw  of  Gegvxis  is  a  Welsh  peculiarity  (Stevenson). 

1 


2  GENEALOGY  OF  ALFRED'S  MOTHER 

of  Brond ;  he  of  Beldeag ;  he  of  Woden ;  he  of  Frithowald ; 
he  of  Frealaf ;  he  of  Frithuwulf ;  he  of  Finn<;  he  of>  God- 
wulf ;  he  of  Geata,  which  Geta  the  heathen  long  worshiped 
as  a  god.  Sedulius  makes  mention  of  him  in  his  metrical 
Paschal  Poem,  as  follows  : 

If  heathen  poets  rave  o'er  fancied  woe, 

While  in  a  tui-gid  stream  their  numbers  flow  — 

Whether  the  tragic  buskin  tread  the  stage, 

Or  waggish  Geta  all  our  thoughts  engage ; 

If  by  the  art  of  song  they  still  revive 

The  taint  of  ill,  and  bid  old  vices  live  ; 

If  monumental  guilt  they  sing,  and  lies 

Commit  to  books  in  magisterial  wise  ; 

Why  may  not  I,  who  list  to  David's  lyre. 

And  reverent  stand  amid  the  hallowed  choir, 

Hymn  heavenly  things  in  words  of  tranquil  tone. 

And  tell  the  deeds  of  Christ  in  accents  all  my  own? 

This  Geata  was  the  son  of  Tsetwa ;  he  of  Beaw ;  he  of 
Sceldwea ;  he  of  Heremod ;  he  of  Itermod ;  he  of  Hathra ; 
he  of  Hwala ;  he  of  Bedwig ;  he  of  Sceaf  ^ ;  he  of  Noah  ;  he 
of  Lamech ;  he  of  Methuselah ;  he  of  Enoch ;  <he  of  Jared>  ; 
he  of  Mahalalel ;  he  of  Kenan^ ;  he  of  Enosh ;  he  of  Seth ; 
he  of  Adam. 

2.  Genealogy  of  Alfred's  Mother.^ — The  mother  of  Alfred 
was  named  Osburh,  an  extremely  devout  woman,  noble 
in  mind,  noble  also  by  descent ;  she  was  daughter  to  Oslac, 
the  famous  cupbearer  of  King  ^thelwulf.     This  Oslac 

1  MS.,  Stev.  Seth  (but  Stevenson  suggests  Sceaf  in  his  variants, 
referring  to  the  Chronicle  under  855). 

2  MS.  Cainan,  but  see  Gen.  5.  12  in  R.  V. 

»  Partly  from  the  Chronicle,  but  the  whole  account  of  Alfred's  father 
and  mother  is  original. 


THE  DANES  SACK  CANTERBURY  3 

was  a  Goth  by  nation,  descended  from  the  Goths  and 
Jutes  —  of  the  seed,  namely,  of  Stuf  and  Wihtgar,  two 
brothers  and  ealdormen.  They,  having  received  possession 
of  the  Isle  of  Wight  from  their  uncle,  King  Cerdic,  and 
his  son  Cynric  their  cousin,^  slew  the  few  British  inhabi- 
tants whom  they  could  find  in  that  island,  at  a  place  called 
Wihtgaraburg'^ ;  for  the  other  inhabitants  of  the  island  had 
either  been  slain  or  had  escaped  into  exile. 

3.  The  Danes  at  Wicganbeorg  and  Sheppey.*  —  In  the  year 
of  our  Lord's  incarnation  851,  which  was  the  third  of  King 
Alfred's  life,  Ceorl,  Ealdorman  of  Devon,  fought  with  the 
men  of  Devon  against  the  heathen  at  a  place  called  Wicgan- 
beorg,* and  the  Christians  gained  the  victory.  In  that  same 
year  the  heathen  first  wintered  in  the  island  called  Sheppey, 
which  means  '  Sheep-island,'  situated  in  the  river  Thames 
between  Essex  and  Kent,  though  nearer  to  Kent  than  to 
Essex,  and  containing  a  fair  monastery.^ 

4.  The  Danes  sack  Canterbury.^  —  The  same  year  a  great 
army  of  heathen  came  with  three  hundred  and  fifty  ships 
to  the  mouth  of  the  river  Thames,  and  sacked  Dorubernia, 
or  Canterbury,'''  <and  also  London)  (which  lies  on  the  north 
bank  of  the  river  Thames,  on  the  confines  of  Essex  and 
Middlesex,  though  in  truth  that  city  belongs  to  Essex) ; 
and  they  put  to  flight  Beorhtwulf,  King  of  Mercia,  with  all 
the  army  which  he  had  led  out  to  oppose  them. 

1  From  the  Chronicle  under  630  and  634. 

2  Unidentified. 

•  From  the  Chronicle. 

*  Possibly  Wigborough,  in  the  parish  of  South  Petherton  in  Somer- 
setshire (Stevenson). 

5  Minster   in  Sheppey,  founded  by  St.   Sexburh  in  the  seventh 
century ;   it  disappeared  during  the  Danish  ravages  (Stevenson). 
8  From  the  Chronicle. 
'  MS.  CarUwariorum  civUatem ;  Chron.  Cantwaraburg. 


4  ^THELWULF  ASSISTS  BURGRED 

5.  Battle  of  Aclea.^ — Having  done  these  things  there,  the 
aforesaid  heathen  host  went  into  Surrey,  which  is  a  shire 
situated  on  the  south  shore  of  the  river  Thames,  and  to  the 
west  of  Kent.  And  ^thelwulf.  King  of  the  Saxons,  and  his 
son  -^thelbald,  with  the  whole  army,  fought  a  long  time 
against  them  at  a  place  called  Aclea,^  that  is,  '  Oak-plain ' ; 
there,  after  a  lengthy  battle,  which  was  fought  with  much 
bravery  on  both  sides,  the  most  part  of  the  heathen  horde 
was  utterly  destroyed  and  slain,  so  that  we  never  heard  of 
their  being  so  smitten,  either  before  or  since,  in  any  region, 
in  one  day  *;  and  the  Christians  gained  an  honorable  victory, 
and  kept  possession  of  the  battle-field. 

6.  Defeat  of  the  Danes  at  Sandwich.*  —  In  that  same  year 
-^thelstan  and  Ealdorman  Ealhere  slew  a  large  army  of 
the  heathen  in  Kent,  at  a  place  called  Sandwich,  and  took 
nine  ships  of  their  fleet,  the  others  escaping  by  flight. 

7.  iffithelwulf  assists  Burgred.  ^ — In  the  year  of  our  Lord's 
incarnation  853,  which  was  the  fifth  of  King  Alfred's  life, 
Burgred,  King  of  the  Mercians,  sent  messengers  to  beseech 
JEthelwulf,  King  of  the  West  Saxons,  to  come  and  help 
him  in  reducing  to  his  sway  the  inhabitants  of  Mid-Wales, 
who  dwell  between  Mercia  and  the  western  sea,  and  who 
were  struggling  against  him  beyond  measure.  So  without 
delay  King  ^thelwulf,  on  receipt  of  the  embassy,  moved 
his  army,  and  advanced  with  King  Burgred  against  AVales  ® ; 

1  Based  upon  the  Chronicle. 

2  Stevenson  is  inclined  to  reject  this  customary  identification  with 
Oakley,  in  Surrey. 

3  The  source  —  the  Chronicle  —  says :  '  And  there  made  the  greatest 
slaughter  among  the  heathen  army  that  we  have  heard  reported  to  the 
present  day.' 

*  From  the  Chronicle. 

6  Mainly  from  the  Chronicle. 

6  The  '  North  Welsh '  of  the  Chronicle. 


OTHER  EVENTS  OF  853  5 

and  immediately  upon  his  entrance  he  ravaged  it,  and 
reduced  it  under  subjection  to  Burgred.  This  being  done, 
he  returned  home. 

8.  Alfred  at  Rome.^  —  In  that  same  year  King  ^thelwulf 
sent  his  above-named  son  Alfred  to  Kome,  with  an  honor- 
able escort  both  of  nobles  and  commoners.  Pope  Leo  at 
that  time  presided  over  the  apostolic  see,  and  he  anointed 
as  king  ^  the  aforesaid  child '  Alfred  in  the  town,  and,  adopt- 
ing him  as  his  son,  confirmed  him.* 

9.  Other  Events  of  853.^ — That  same  year  also,  Ealdorman 
Ealhere  with  the  men  of  Kent,  and  Huda  with  the  men  of 
Surrey,  fought  bravely  and  resolutely  against  an  army  of  the 
heathen  in  the  island  which  is  called  Tenet®  in  the  Saxon 
tongue,  but  Ruim  in  the  Welsh  language.  At  first  the 
Christians  were  victorious.  The  battle  lasted  a  long  time ; 
many  fell  on  both  sides,  and  were  drowned  in  the  water ; 
and  both  the  ealdormen  were  there  slain.  In  the  same  year 
also,  after  Easter,  ^Ethelwulf,  King  of  the  West  Saxons, 
gave  his  daughter  to  Burgred,  King  of  the  Mercians,  as  his 
queen,  and  the  marriage  was  celebrated  in  princely  wise  at 
the  royal  vill  of  Chippenham. 

1  Based  upon  the  Chronicle. 

2  MS.  in  regem.  ^  MS.  infantem. 

*  '  A  letter  from  the  pope  to  Alfred's  father,  regarding  the  ceremony 
at  Rome,  has  been  fortimately  preserved  for  us  in  a  twelfth-century 
collection  of  papal  letters,  now  in  the  British  Museum.  .  .  .  The  letter 
is  as  follows :  '■'•Edeluulfo,  regi  Anglorum  [marginal  direction  for  rubri- 
cator].  <F>  ilium  vestrum  Erf  red,  quem  hoc  in  tempore  ad  Sanctorum 
Apostolorum  limina  destinare  curastis,  benigne  suscepimus,  et,  quasi 
spiritalem  fllium  consulatus  cingulo  <cinguli  emend.  Ewald)  honore 
vestimentisque,  ut  mos  est  Romanis  consulibus,  decoravimus,  eo  quod  in 
nostris  se  tradidit  manibus"  '  (Stevenson).  The  Chronicle  has:  '.  .  . 
consecrated  him  as  king,  and  took  him  as  bishop-son.'    See  p.  29. 

6  Based  upon  the  Chronicle.  ®  Thanet. 


6  REBELLION  OF  iETHELBALD 

10.  The  Heathen  winter  in  Sheppey.^  —  In  the  year  of  our 
Lord's  incarnation  855,  which  was  the  seventh  of  the  afore- 
said king's  life,  a  great  army  of  the  heathen  spent  the  whole 
winter  in  the  aforesaid  island  of  Sheppey. 

11.  JEthelwulf  journeys  to  Rome.'^  —  In  that  same  year  the 
aforesaid  worshipful  King  Ji^thelwulf  freed  the  tenth  part^ 
of  all  his  kingdom  from  every  royal  service  and  tribute, 
and  offered  it  up  as  an  everlasting  grant  to  God  the  One  and 
Three,  on  the  cross  of  Christ,  for  the  redemption  of  his 
own  soul  and  those  of  his  predecessors.  In  the  same  year 
he  went  to  Rome  with  much  honor ;  and  taking  with  him 
his  son,  the  aforesaid  King  Alfred,  a  second  time  on  the 
same  journey,  because  he  loved  him  more  than  his  other 
sons,  he  remained  there  a  whole  year.  After  this  he  re- 
turned to  his  own  country,  bringing  with  him  Judith, 
daughter  of  Charles,  King  of  the  Franks.* 

12.  Rebellion  of  -Sithelbald.*  —  In  the  meantime,  however, 
whilst  King  ^thelwulf  was  residing  this  short  time  beyond 
sea,  a  base  deed  was  done  in  the  western  part  of  Selwood,® 
repugnant  to  the  morals  of  all  Christians.  For  King  ^thel- 
bald,  Ealhstan,  Bishop  of  the  church  of  Sherborne,  and 
Eanwulf,  Ealdorman  of  Somerset,  are  said  to  have  formed  • 
a  conspiracy  to  the  end  that  King  ^thelwulf,  on  his  return 
from  Eome,  should  not  again  be  received  in  his  kingdom. 
This  unfortunate  occurrence,  unheard-of  in  all  previous  ages, 
is  ascribed  by  many  to  the  bishop  and  ealdorman  alone, 
since,  say  they,  it  resulted  from  their  counsels.  Many  also 
ascribe  it  solely  to  the  insolence  of  the  king,  because  he 
was  headstrong  in  this  matter  and  in  many  other  perversi- 
ties, as  I  have  heard  related  by  certain  persons,  and  as  was 

1  From  the  Chronicle.  ^  Based  upon  the  Chronicle. 

8  Charles  the  Bald.  *  Original, 

fi  Comprising  Somerset,  Devon,  and  Cornwall. 


JUDITH'S  POSITION  IN   AVESSEX  7 

proved  by  the  result  of  that  which  followed.  For  on  his 
return  from  Rome,  ^Ethelwulf's  son  aforesaid,  with  all  his 
counselors,  or  rather  waylayers,  attempted  to  perpetrate 
the  crime  of  repulsing  the  king  from  his  own  kingdom ; 
but  neither  did  God  suffer  it,  nor  did  the  nobles  of  all 
Wessex  consent  thereto.  For  to  prevent  this  irremediable 
danger  to  Wessex  of  a  war  between  father  and  son,  or 
rather  of  the  whole  nation  waging  civil  war  more  fiercely 
and  cruelly  from  day  to  day,  as  they  espoused  the  cause  of 
the  one  or  the  other,— ;- by  the  extraordinary  clemency  of  the 
father,  seconded  by  the  consent  of  all  the  nobles,  the  king- 
dom which  had  hitherto  been  undivided  was  parted  between 
the  two,  the  eastern  districts  being  given  to  the  father,  and 
the  western  to  the  son.  Thus  where  the  father  ought  by 
just  right  to  have  reigned,  there  did  his  unjust  and  obsti- 
nate son  bear  rule ;  for  the  western  part  of  Wessex  is 
always  superior  to  the  eastern. 

13.  Judith's  Position  in  Wessex.^ — When  .^Ethelwulf ,  there- 
fore, returned  from  Rome,  the  whole  nation,  as  was  fitting, 
so  rejoiced*^  in  the  arrival  of  the  ruler  that,  if  he  had  allowed 
them,  they  would  have  expelled  his  unruly  son  ^thelbald, 
with  all  his  counselors,  from  the  kingdom.  But  he,  as  I 
have  said,  acting  with  great  clemency  and  prudent  counsel, 
would  not  act  in  this  way,  lest  the  kingdom  should  be 
exposed  to  peril.  He  likewise  bade  Judith,  daughter  of 
King  Charles,  whom  he  had  received  from  her  father,  take 
her  seat  by  his  own  side  on  the  royal  throne,  without  any 
dispute  or  enmity  from  liis  nobles  even  to  the  end  of  his 
life,  though  contrary  to  the  perverse  custom  of  that  nation.^ 

1  Chiefly  original.  "  From  the  Chronicle. 

*  Prudentius  of  Troyes  (in  Annales  Bertiniani,  an.  856,  ,ed.  Waitz, 
p.  47),  says  of  BLshop  Hincmar :  '  Earn  .  .  .  reginae  nomine  insignit, 
quod  sibi  suseque  genti  eatenus  f  uerat  insuetum. ' 


8  OFFA  AND  EADBURH 

For  the  nation  of  the  West  Saxons  does  not  allow  the 
queen  to  sit  beside  the  king,  nor  to  be  called  queen,  but 
only  the  king's  wife ;  which  refusal,  or  rather  reproach, 
the  chief  persons  of  that  land  say  arose  from  a  certain 
headstrong  and  malevolent  queen  of  the  nation,  who  did 
all  things  so  contrary  to  her  lord  and  to  the  whole  people 
that  not  only  did  the  hatred  which  she  brought  upon  her- 
self bring  to  pass  her  exclusion  from  the  queenly  throne, 
but  also  entailed  the  same  corruption  upon  those  who  came 
after  her,  since,  in  consequence  of  the  extreme  malignity  of 
that  queen,  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  land  banded  them- 
selves together  by  an  oath  never  in  their  lives  to  let  any 
king  reign  over  them  who  should  bid  his  queen  take  her  seat 
on  the  royal  throne  by  his  side.  And  because,  as  I  think^ 
it  is  not  known  to  many  whence  this  perverse  and  detest- 
able custom  first  arose  in  Wessex,  contrary  to  the  custom 
of  all  the  Germanic  peoples,  it  seems  to  me  right  to  explain 
it  a  little  more  fully,  as  I  have  heard  it  from  my  lord  Alfred 
the  truth-teller.  King  of  the  Anglo-Saxons,  who  often  told 
me  about  it,  as  he  also  had  heard  it  from  many  men 
of  truth  who  related  the  fact,  or,  I  should  rather  say, 
expressly  preserved  the  remembrance  of  it. 

14.  Offa  and  Eadburh.^  —  There  was  in  Mercia  in  recent 
times  a  certain  valiant  king,  who  was  dreaded  by  all  the 
neighboring  kings  and  states.  His  name  was  Offa,  and  it 
was  he  who  had  the  great  dike  made  from  sea  to  sea 
between  Wales  and  Mercia.^  His  daughter,  named  Eadburh, 
was  married  to  Beorhtric,  King  of  the  West  Saxons.  The 
moment  she  had  possessed  herself  of  the  king's  good  will, 
and  practically  the  whole  power  of  the  realm,  she  began  to 

1  Original. 

2  Offa's  Dike ;  it  extended  from  the  mouth  of  the  Dee  to  that  of  the 
Severn. 


EADBURH'S  FURTHER  LIFE  9 

live  tyrannically,  after  the  manner  of  her  father.  Every 
man  whom  Beorhtric  loved  she  would  execrate,  and  would 
do  all  things  hateful  to  God  and  man,  accusing  to  the  king 
all  whom  she  could,  thus  depriving  them  insidiously  either 
of  life  or  of  power.  And  if  she  could  not  obtain  the  king's 
consent,  she  used  to  take  them  off  by  poison,  as  is  ascertained 
to  have  been  the  case  with  a  certain  young  man  beloved  by 
the  king,  whom  she  poisoned,  seeing  that  she  could  not 
accuse  him  to  the  king.  It  is  said,  moreover,  that  King 
Beorhtric  unwittingly  tasted  of  the  poison,  though  the  queen 
had  intended  to  give  it,  not  to  him,  but  to  the  young  man ; 
the  king,  however,  was  beforehand  with  him,  and  so  both 
perished. 

15.  Eadburh's  Further  Life.*  —  King  Beorhtric  therefore 
being  dead,  the  queen,  since  she  could  no  longer  remain 
among  the  Saxons,  sailed  beyond  sea  with  countless  treas- 
ures, and  came  to  Charles,^  King  of  the  Franks.  As  she 
stood  before  the  dais,  bringing  many  gifts  to  the  king,  Charles 
said  to  her :  '  Choose,  Eadburh,  between  me  and  my  son,  who 
stands  with  me  on  this  dais.'  She,  without  deliberation,  fool- 
ishly replied  :  '  If  I  am  to  have  my  choice,  I  choose  your  son, 
because  he  is  younger  than  you.'  At  which  Charles  smiled 
and  answered :  '  If  you  had  chosen  me,  you  should  have  had 
my  son ;  but  since  you  have  chosen  him,  you  shall  have 
neither  me  nor  him.'  However,  he  gave  her  a  large  convent 
of  nuns,  in  which,  having  laid  aside  her  secular  habit,  and 
assumed  the  dress  worn  by  the  nuns,  she  discharged  the 
office  of  abbess  for  a  few  years.  As  she  is  said  to  have 
lived  irrationally  in  her  own  country,  so  she  appears  to 
have  acted  much  more  so  among  a  foreign  people  ;  for,  being 
finally  caught  in  illicit  intercourse  with  a  man  of  her  own 
nation,  she  was  expelled  from  the  monastery  by  order  of 
1  Original.  ^  Charlemagne. 


10  iETHELWULF'S  WILL 

King  Charles.  Henceforward  she  lived  a  life  of  shame  in 
poverty  and  misery  until  her  death ;  so  that  at  last,  accom- 
panied only  by  one  slave,  as  I  have  heard  from  many  who 
saw  her,  she  begged  her  bread  daily  at  Pavia,^  and  so 
wretchedly  died. 

16.  iEthelwulf  8  Wm.2  — Now  King  ^thelwulf  lived  two 
years  after  his  return  from  Rome  ;  during  which,  among 
many  other  good  deeds  of  this  present  life,  reflecting  on  his 
departure  according  to  the  way  of  all  flesh,  that  his  sons 
might  not  quarrel  unreasonably  after  their  father's  death, 
he  ordered  a  will  or  letter  of  instructions  to  be  written,' 
in  which  he  commanded  that  his  kingdom  should  be  duly 
divided  between  his  two  eldest  sons ;  his  private  heritage 
between  his  sons,  his  daughter,  and  his  relatives ;  and  the 
money  which  he  should  leave  behind  him  between  his 
soul  *  and  his  sons  and  nobles.  Of  this  prudent  policy  I 
have  thought  fit  to  record  a  few  instances  out  of  many  for 
posterity  to  imitate,  namely,  such  as  are  understood  to 
belong  principally  to  the  needs  of  the  soul ;  for  the  others, 
which  relate  only  to  human  stewardship,  it  is  not  necessary 

1  '  Pavia  was  on  the  road  to  Rome,  and  was  hence  frequented  by 
English  pilgrims  on  their  journey  to  the  latter'  (Stevenson).  The 
Chronicle  says  under  888  :  '  Queen  ^thelswith,  who  was  King  Alfred's 
sister,  died ;  and  her  body  lies  at  Pavia. '  '  With  this  story  of  Eadburh's 
begging  in  that  city  we  may  compare  the  statement  of  St.  Boniface, 
written  about  747,  as  to  the  presence  of  English  prostitutes  or  adulter- 
esses in  the  cities  of  Lombardy,  Frankland,  or  Gaul  (Diimmler,  Epis- 
tolce  Karolini  ^vi  1.  355;  Haddan  and  Stubbs,  Councils  3.  381).  At 
the  date  of  this  letter  the  Lombards  still  spoke  their  native  Germanic 
tongue,  and  it  is  probable  that  as  late  as  Eadburh's  time  it  was  still 
the  predominant  speech  in  Lombardy  '  (Stevenson). 

2  Mostly  original. 

*  In  Alfred's  will  {Cart.  Sax.  2.  177.  9)  he  refers  to  this  as  '  AJ'ulfes 
cinges  yrfegewrit '  (Stevenson). 

*  That  is,  for  the  good  of  his  soul. 


^THELBALD  MARRIES  JUDITH  H 

to  insert  in  this  little  work,  lest  prolixity  should  create 
disgust  in  those  who  read  or  wish  to  hear.  For  the  bene- 
fit of  his  soul,  then,  which  he  studied  to  promote  in  all 
things  from  the  first  flower  of  his  youth,  he  directed  that, 
through  all  his  hereditary  land,  one  poor  man  to  every  ten 
hides,^  either  native  or  foreigner,  should  be  supplied  with 
food,  drink,  and  clothing  by  his  successors  unto  the  final 
Day  of  Judgment ;  on  condition,  however,  that  that  land 
should  still  be  inhabited  both  by  men  and  cattle,  and  should 
not  become  deserted.  He  commanded  also  a  large  sum 
of  money,  namely,  three  hundred  mancuses,'^  to  be  carried 
annually  to  Rome  for  the  good  of  his  soul,  to  be  there 
distributed  in  the  following  manner :  a  hundred  man- 
cuses  in  honor  of  St.  Peter,  especially  to  buy  oil  for  the 
lights  of  that  apostolic  church  on  Easter  Eve,  and  also  at 
cockcrow;  a  hundred  mancuses  in  honor  of  St.  Paul,  for 
the  same  purpose  of  buying  oil  for  the  church  of  St.  Paul 
the  apostle,  to  fill  the  lamps  for  Easter  Eve  and  cock- 
crow ;  and  a  hundred  mancuses  for  the  universal  apostolic 
Pope. 

17.  iEthelbald  marries  Judith.^  —  But  when  King  ^thel- 
wulf  was  dead  <and  buried  at  Winchester),*  his  son  ^Ethel- 
bald,  contrary  to  God's  prohibition  and  the  dignity  of  a 
Christian,  contrary  also  to  the  custom  of  all  the  heathen,^ 
ascended  his  father's  bed,  and  married  Judith,  daughter 
of  Charles,  King  of  the  Franks,  incurring  much  infamy 
from  all  who  heard  of  it.    During  two  years  and  a  half  of 

1  Lat.  manentibus. 

2  A  mancus  was  thirty  pence,  one-eighth  of  a  pound. 
8  Original. 

*  From  Florence  of  Worcester.    The  Annals  of  St.  Neots  have:  '  and 
buried  at  Steyning  '  {Stemrugam). 
6  This  last  statement  is  incorrect. 


12  THE  DANES  IN  KENT 

lawlessness  he  held  after  his  father  the  government  of  the 
West  Saxons. 

18.  ^thelbert's  Reign.^  —  In  the  year  of  our  Lord's  incar- 
nation 860,  which  was  the  twelfth  of  King  Alfred's  life, 
<King>  ^thelbald  <died,  and)  was  buried  at  Sherborne. 
His  brother  ^thelbert,  as  was  right,  added  Kent,  Surrey, 
and  Sussex  to  his  realm.  In  his  days  a  great  army  of 
heathen  came  from  the  sea,  and  attacked  and  laid  waste 
the  city  of  Winchester.  As  they  were  returning  laden 
with  booty  to  their  ships,  Osric,  Ealdorman  of  Hampshire, 
with  his  men,  and  Ealdorman  ^thelwulf,  with  the  men  of 
Berkshire,  faced  them  bravely.  Battle  was  then  joined  in 
the  town,  and  the  heathen  were  slain  on  every  side  ;  and 
finding  themselves  unable  to  resist,  they  took  to  flight  like 
women,  and  the  Christians  held  the  battle-field. 

19.  ^thelbert's  Death.^ —  So  iEthelbert  governed  his 
kingdom  five  years  in  peace  and  love  and  honor;  and 
went  the  way  of  all  flesh,  to  the  great  grief  of  his  subjects. 
He  rests  interred  in  honorable  wise  at  Sherborne,  by  the 
side  of  his  brother. 

20.  The  Danes  in  Kent.^  —  In  the  year  of  our  Lord's  in- 
carnation 864  the  heathen  wintered  in  the  isle  of  Thanet, 
and  made  a  firm  treaty  with  the  men  of  Kent,  who  prom- 
ised them  money  for  observing  their  agreement.  In  the 
meantime,  however,  the  heathen,  after  the  manner  of  foxes, 
burst  forth  with  all  secrecy  from  their  camp  by  night,  and 
setting  at  naught  their  engagements,  and  spurning  the 
promised  money  —  which  they  knew  was  less  than  they 

1  From  the  Chronicle  under  860.  As  ^thelbert  was  already  in  pos- 
session of  Kent,  Surrey,  and  Sussex,  it  should  rather  be  said  that  he 
added  "Wessex. 

2  From  the  Chronicle  under  860. 

8  Chiefly  from  the  Chronicle  under  865  and  866. 


ALFRED'S  REARIXG  13 

could  get  by  plunder  —  they  ravaged  all  the  eastern  coast 
of  Kent. 

21.  ,-3Ethelred's  Accession.^  —  In  the  year  of  our  Lord's  in- 
carnation 866,  which  was  the  eighteenth  of  King  Alfred's 
life,  ^thelred,  brother  of  King  -^thelbert,  undertook  the 
government  of  the  West  Saxon  realm.  The  same  year  a 
great  fleet  of  heathen  came  to  Britain  from  the  Danube,^ 
and  wintered  in  the  kingdom  of  the  East  Saxons,  which 
is  called  in  Saxon  East  Anglia  ;  and  there  they  became  in 
the  main  an  army  of  cavalry.  But,  to  speak  in  nautical  i 
phrase,  I  will  no  longer  commit  my  vessel  to  wave  and 
sail,  or  steer  my  roundabout  course  at  a  distance  from  land 
through  so  many  calamities  of  wars  and  series  of  years,  but 
rather  return  to  that  which  first  prompted  me  to  this  task  : 
that  is  to  say,  I  think  it  right  briefly  to  insert  in  this  place 
the  little  that  has  come  to  my  knowledge  about  the  char- 
acter of  my  revered  lord  Alfred,  King  of  the  Anglo-Saxons, 
during  the  years  of  infancy  and  boyhood. 

22.  Alfred's  Rearing.^  —  He  was  extraordinarily  beloved 
by  both  his  father  and  mother,  and  indeed  by  all  the  peo- 
ple, beyond  all  his  brothers  ;  in  inseparable  companionship 
with  them  he  was  reared  at  the  royal  court.*  As  he  ad- 
vanced through  the  years  of  infancy  and  youth,  he  appeared 
more  comely  in  person  than  his  brothers,  as  in  counte- 
nance, speech,  and  manners  he  was  more  pleasing  than 
they.  His  noble  birth  and  noble  nature  implanted  in  him 
from  his  cradle  a  love  of  wisdom  above  all  things,  even 
amid  all  the  occupations  of  this  present  life ;  but  —  with 
shame  be  it  spoken !  —  by  the  unworthy  neglect  of  his 

1  The  earlier  part  from  the  Chronicle. 

2  Probably  meaning  the  mouths  of  the  Rhine  (Stevenson). 

3  Original. 

*  Curto,  a  word  showing  Frankish  influence. 


14  ALFRED'S   HANDBOOK 

parents  and  governors  he  remained  illiterate  till  he  was 
twelve  years  old  or  more,  though  by  day  and  night  he  was 
an  attentive  listener  to  the  Saxon  poems  which  he  often 
heard  recited,  and,  being  apt  at  learning,  kept  them  in  his 
memory.  He  was  a  zealous  practiser  of  hunting  in  all  its 
branches,  and  followed  the  chase  with  great  assiduity  and 
success ;  for  his  skill  and  good  fortune  in  this  art,  and  in 
all  the  other  gifts  of  God,  were  beyond  those  of  every  one 
else,  as  I  have  often  witnessed. 

23.  Alfred  and  the  Book  of  Saxon  Poems.^  —  Now  on  a  cer- 
tain day  his  mother  was  showing  him  and  his  brothers  a 
book  of  Saxon  poetry,  which  she  held  in  her  hand,  and 
finally  said:  'Whichever  of  you  can  soonest  learn  this  vol- 
ume, to  him  will  I  give  it.'  Stimulated  by  these  words,  or 
rather  by  divine  inspiration,  and  allured  by  the  beautifully 
illuminated  letter  at  the  beginning  of  the  volume,  (Alfred)^ 
spoke  before  all  his  brothers,  who,  though  his  seniors  in 
age,  were  not  so  in  grace,  and  answered  his  mother  :  <  Will 
you  really  give  that  book  to  that  one  of  us  who  can  first 
understand  and  repeat  it  to  you  ? '  At  this  his  mother 
smiled  with  satisfaction,  and  confirmed  what  she  had 
before  said:  *Yes,'  said  she,  'that  I  will.'  Upon  this  the 
boy  took  the  book  out  of  her  hand,  and  went  to  his  master 
and  learned  it  by  heart,^  whereupon  he  brought  it  back  to 
his  mother  and  recited  it. 

24.  Alfred's  Handbook."— After  this  <he  learned)^  the 
daily  course,  that  is,  the  celebration  of  the  hours,  and 
afterwards  certain  Psalms,  and  many  prayers,  contained 
in  a  book  ^  which  he  kept  day  and  night  in  his  bosom,  as 

1  Original.  Stevenson  would  refer  this  event  to  a  date  earlier  than 
855.  2  From  Florence  of  Worcester. 

'  So  Pauli  and  Stevenson  interpret  legit. 
*  Original.  e  cf.  chap.  88. 


ALFRED'S  LOVE  OF  LEARNING       15 

I  myself  have  seen,  and  always  carried  about  with  him, 
for  the  sake  of  prayer,  through  all  the  bustle  and  business 
of  this  present  life.  But,  sad  to  relate,  he  could  not  gratify 
his  ardent  wish  to  acquire  liberal  art,^  because,  as  he  was 
wont  to  say,  there  were  at  that  time  no  good  teachers  in 
all  the  kingdom  of  the  West  Saxons.^ 

25.  Alfred's  Love  of  Learning.^  —  This  he  would  confess, 
with  many  lamentations  and  with  sighs  from  the  bottom 
of  his  heart,  to  have  been  one  of  his  greatest  difficulties 
and  impediments  in  this  present  life,  that  when  he  was 
young  and  had  leisure  and  capacity  for  learning,  he  had  no 
masters ;  but  when  he  was  more  advanced  in  years,  he  was 
continually  occupied,  not  to  say  harassed,  day  and  night, 
by  so  many  diseases  unknown  to  all  the  physicians  of  this 
island,  as  well  as  by  internal  and  external  anxieties  of 
sovereignty,  and  by  invasions  of  the  heathen  by  sea  and 
land,  that  though  he  then  had  some  store  of  teachers  and 
writers,*  it  was  quite  impossible  for  him  to  study.  But  yet 
among  the  impediments  of  this  present  life,  from  child- 
hood to  the  present  day  [and,  as  I  believe,  even  until  his 
death],^  he  has  continued  to  feel  the  same  insatiable  desire. 

1  The  liberal  arts  were  seven,  consisting  of  the  trivium  —  grammar, 
logic,  and  rhetoric  —  and  the  quadrivium  —  arithmetic,  geometry, 
music,  and  astronomy.  This  course  of  study  was  introduced  in  the 
sixth  century.  Asser  here  employs  the  singular,  artem,  which  might 
be  translated  by  '  education. ' 

2  See  Alfred's  own  statement  in  Appendix  I,  p.  69. 
'  Original. 

*  Alfred  says  (Preface  to  the  Pastoral  Care) :  'Thanks  be  to 
Almighty  God  that  we  have  any  teachers  among  us  now.'  In  this 
same  Preface  he  mentions,  among  those  who  aided  him  in  the  trans- 
lation. Archbishop  Plegmund,  Bishop  Asser,  our  author,  and  the  two 
priests  Grimbold  and  John.  Cf.  chaps.  77,  78,  79,  81,  88,  and 
Appendix  I,  p.  71.  ^  Stevenson  brackets  this  clause. 


16  DEFEAT  OF  THE  NORTHUMBRIANS 

26.  The  Danes  occupy  York.^  —  In  the  year  of  our  Lord's 
incarnation  867,  which  was  the  nineteenth  of  the  aforesaid 
King  Alfred's  life,  the  army  of  heathen  before  mentioned 
removed  from  East  Anglia  to  the  city  of  York,  which  is 
situated  on  the  north  bank  of  the  river  Humber, 

27.  Defeat  of  the  Northumbrians.^  —  At  that  time  a  vio- 
lent discord  arose,  by  the  instigation  of  the  devil,  among 
the  Northumbrians,  as  always  is  wont  to  happen  to 
a  people  who  have  incurred  the  wrath  of  God.  For  the 
Northumbrians  at  that  time,  as  I  have  said,^  had  expelled 
their  lawful  king  Osbert  from  his  realm,  and  appointed  a 
certain  tyrant  named  ^Ua,  not  of  royal  birth,  over  the 
affairs  of  the  kingdom.  But  when  the  heathen  approached, 
by  divine  providence,  and  the  furtherance  of  the  common 
weal  by  the  nobles,  that  discord  was  a  little  appeased,  and 
Osbert  and  ^lla  uniting  their  resources,  and  assembling 
an  army,  marched  to  the  town  of  York.  The  heathen  fled 
at  their  approach,  and  attempted  to  defend  themselves 
within  the  walls  of  the  city.  The  Christians,  perceiving 
their  flight  and  the  terror  they  were  in,  determined  to  fol- 
low them  within  the  very  ramparts  of  the  town,  and  to 
demolish  the  wall ;  and  this  they  succeeded  in  doing,  since 
the  city  at  that  time  was  not  surrounded  by  firm  or  strong 
walls.  When  the  Christians  had  made  a  breach,  as  they 
had  purposed,  and  many  of  them  had  entered  into  the  city 
along  with  the  heathen,  the  latter,  impelled  by  grief  and 
necessity,  made  a  fierce  sally  upon  them,  slew  them,  routed 
them,  and  cut  them  down,  both  within  and  without  the 
walls.    In  that  battle  fell  almost  all  the  Northumbrian 

1  Mostly  from  the  Chronicle. 

2  This  clause  must  refer  to  the  first  line  of  the  chapter,  as  there  is 
no  previous  mention  of  the  Northumbrians. 


THE  DANES  AT  NOTTIXGHAM  17 

troops,  and  both  the  kings  were  slain  ;  the  remainder,  who 
escaped,  made  peace  with  the  heathen. 

28.  Death  of  Ealhstan.^  —  In  the  same  year,  Ealhstan, 
Bishop  of  the  church  of  Sherborne,  went  the  way  of  all 
flesh,  after  he  had  honorably  ruled  his  see  fifty  years  ;  and 
in  peace  he  was  buried  at  Sherborne. 

29.  Alfred  marries.^  —  In  the  year  of  our  Lord's  incarna- 
tion 868,  which  was  the  twentieth  of  King  Alfred's  life, 
the  aforesaid  revered  King  Alfred,  then  occupying  only 
the  rank  of  viceroy  (secundarii),  betrothed^  and  espoused 
a  noble  Mercian  lady,*  daughter  of  ^thelred,  surnamed 
Mucin,  Ealdorman  of  the  Gaini.^  The  mother  of  this 
lady  was  named  Eadburh,  of  the  royal  line  of  Mercia, 
whom  I  often  saw  with  my  own  eyes  a  few  years  before 
her  death.  She  was  a  venerable  lady,  and  after  the  decease 
of  her  husband  remained  many  years  a  chaste  widow,  even 
till  her  own  death. 

30.  The  Danes  at  Nottingham.^  —  In  that  same  year  the 
above-named  army  of  heathen,  leaving Northumbria,  invaded 
Mercia,  and  advanced  to  Nottingham,  which  is  called  in 
Welsh  Tigguocobauc,'^  but  in  Latin  '  The  House  of  Caves,' 

1  From  the  Chronicle.  ^  Original. 

3  '  Subarravit,  formed  from  sub  and  arrha,  represents  literally  the 
English  verb  wed,  which  refers  to  the  giving  of  security  upon  the 
engagement  of  marriage.  .  .  .  [It]  is  glossed  by  beweddian  in  Napier's 
Old  English  Glosses ''  (Stevenson). 

*  William  of  Malmesbury  calls  her  ^thelswith. 
5  Of  the  Gaini  nothing  is  known. 

*  Largely  from  the  Chronicle. 

■^  'A compound  of  tig  (Modern  Welsh  ty,  "house"),  and  guocobauc 
(Modern  Welsh  gogofawg),  an  adjective  derived  from  gogof,  "cave." 
.  .  .  The  name  ...  is  certainly  applicable  to  Nottingham,  which  has 
long  been  famous  for  the  houses  excavated  out  of  the  soft  sandstone 
upon  which  it  stands'  (Stevenson).  The  word  Nottingham  itself,  how- 
ever, has  not  this  meaning. 


18  THE  DANES  TRIUMPH 

and  wintered  there  that  same  year.  Immediately  on  their 
approach,  Burgred,  King  of  the  Mercians,  and  all  the 
nobles  of  that  nation,  sent  messengers  to  ^thelred,^  King 
of  the  West  Saxons,  and  his  brother  Alfred,  entreating 
them  to  come  and  aid  them  in  fighting  against  the  afore- 
said army.  Their  request  was  readily  granted;  for  the 
brothers,  as  soon  as  promised,  assembled  an  immense  army 
from  every  part  of  their  <realm>,  and,  entering  Mercia,  came 
to  Nottingham,  all  eager  for  battle.  When  now  the  heathen, 
defended  by  the  castle,  refused  to  fight,  and  the  Christians 
were  unable  to  destroy  the  wall,  peace  was  made  between 
the  Mercians  and  the  heathen,  and  the  two  brothers, 
.iEthelred  and  Alfred,  returned  home  with  their  troops. 

31.  The  Danes  at  York.^  —  In  the  year  of  our  Lord's  incar- 
nation 869,  which  was  the  twenty -first  of  King  Alfred's  life, 
the  aforesaid  army  of  heathen,  riding  back  to  Northumbria, 
went  to  the  city  of  York,  and  there  passed  the  whole  winter. 

32.  The  Danes  at  Thetford.^  —  In  the  year  of  our  Lord's 
incarnation  870,  which  was  the  twenty-second  of  King 
Alfred's  life,  the  above-mentioned  army  of  heathen  passed 
through  Mercia  into  East  Anglia,  and  wintered  at  Thetford.^ 

33.  The  Danes  triumph.^  —  That  same  year  Edmund, 
King  of  the  East  Angles,  fought  most  fiercely  against  that 
army ;  but,  lamentable  to  say,  the  heathen  triumphed, 
for  he  and  most  of  his  men  were  there  slain,  while  the 
enemy  held  the  battle-field,  and  reduced  all  that  region  to 
subjection. 

34.  Ceolnoth  dies.*  —  That  same  year  Ceolnoth,  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury,  went  the  way  of  all  flesh,  and  was 
buried  in  peace  in  that  city. 

1  Here  and  elsewhere  in  the  text  often  spelled  ^thered. 

2  From  the  Chronicle.  ^  In  Norfolk. 
*  Mostly  from  the  Chronicle. 


BATTLE  OF  READING  19 

35.  The  Danes  defeated  at  Englefield/  —  In  the  year  of 
our  Lord's  incarnation  871,  which  was  the  twenty-third  of 
King  Alfred's  life,  the  heathen  army,  of  hateful  memory, 
left  East  Anglia,  and,  entering  the  kingdom  of  the  West 
Saxons,  came  to  the  royal  vill  called  Keading,  situated  on 
the  south  bank  of  the  Thames,  in  the  district  called  Berk- 
shire ;  and  there,  on  the  third  day  after  their  arrival,  their 
<two>  ealdormen,  with  great  part  of  the  army,  rode  forth 
for  plunder,  while  the  others  made  an  entrenchment  be- 
tween the  rivers  Thames  and  Kennet,  on  the  southern 
side  of  the  same  royal  vill.  They  were  encountered  by 
iEthelwulf,  Ealdorman  of  Berkshire,  with  his  men,  at  a 
place  called  Englefield  ^  <in  English,  and  in  Latin  *  The 
Field  of  the  Angles').'  Both  sides  fought  bravely,  and 
made  long  resistance  to  each  other.  At  length  one  of  the 
heathen  ealdormen  was  slain,  and  the  greater  part  of  the 
army  destroyed;  upon  which  the  rest  saved  themselves 
by  flight,  and  the  Christians  gained  the  victory  and  held 
the  battle-field. 

36.  Battle  of  Reading.^  —  Four  days  afterwards,  King 
iEthelred  and  his  brother  Alfred,  uniting  their  forces  and 
assembling  an  army,  marched  to  Reading,  where,  on  their 
arrival  at  the  castle  gate,  they  cut  to  pieces  and  overthrew 
the  heathen  whom  they  found  outside  the  fortifications. 
But  the  heathen  fought  no  less  valiantly  and,  rushing  like 
wolves  out  of  every  gate,  waged  battle  with  all  their 
might.  Both  sides  fought  long  and  fiercely,  but  at  last, 
sad  to  say,  the  Christians  turned  their  backs,  the  heathen 
obtained  the  victory  and  held  the  battle-field,  the  aforesaid 
Ealdorman  ^Ethelwulf  being  among  the  slain. 

1  Chiefly  from  the  Chronicle. 

2  Five  and  one-half  miles  southwest  of  Reading. 

8  Added  from  Florence  of  Worcester  by  Stevenson. 


20  ALFRED  BEGINS  THE  ATTACK 

37.  Battle  of  Ashdown.^  —  E-oused  by  this  grief  and 
shame,  the  Christians,  after  four  days,  with  all  their  forces 
and  much  spirit  advanced  to  battle  against  the  aforesaid 
army,  at  a  place  called  Ashdown,'^  which  in  Latin  signi- 
fies '  Ash's  ^  Hill.'  The  heathen,  forming  in  two  divisions, 
arranged  two  shield- walls  of  similar  size ;  and  since  they 
had  two  kings  and  many  ealdormen,  they  gave  the  middle  * 
part  of  the  army  to  the  two  kings,  and  the  other  part  to 
all  the  ealdormen.  The  Christians,  perceiving  this,  divided 
their  army  also  into  two  troops,  and  with  no  less  zeal 
formed  shield-walls.^  But  Alfred,  as  I  have  been  told  by 
truthful  eye-witnesses,  marched  up  swiftly  with  his  men  to 
the  battle-field ;  for  King  ^thelred  had  remained  a  long 
time  in  his  tent  in  prayer,  hearing  mass,  and  declaring  that 
he  would  not  depart  thence  alive  till  the  priest  had  done, 
and  that  he  was  not  disposed  to  abandon  the  service  of  God 
for  that  of  men ;  and  according  to  these  sentiments  he  acted. 
This  faith  of  the  Christian  king  availed  much  with  the 
Lord,  as  I  shall  show  more  fully  in  the  sequel. 

38.  Alfred  begins  the  Attack.^  —  Now  the  Christians  had 
determined  that  King  J^thelred,  with  his  men,  should 
attack  the  two  heathen  kings,  and  that  his  brother  Alfred, 
with  his  troops,  should  take  the  chance  of  war  against  all 
the  leaders  of  the  heathen.    Things  being  so  arranged  on 

1  Chiefly  from  the  Chronicle. 

2  The  Berkshire  Downs  (Stevenson). 

3  Stevenson  is  convinced  that  ^scesdun,  though  interpreted  as 
'mons  fraxini,'  cannot  mean  'the  hill  of  the  ash,'  but  that  Ash  is 
here  a  man's  name. 

*  Perhaps  mediam  is  a  scribal  error  for  unam  or  primam  (Steven- 
son). 

^  There  is  a  note  on  the  Germanic  shield-wall  in  my  edition  of 
Judith  (305a),  in  the  Belles  Lettres  Series. 

**  All  original  except  final  clause. 


THE  HEATHEN  ROUT  AND  LOSS  21 

both  sides,  the  king  still  continued  a  long  time  in  prayer, 
and  the  heathen,  prepared  for  battle,  had  hastened  to  the 
field.  Then  Alfred,  though  only  second  in  command,  could 
no  longer  support  the  advance  of  the  enemy,  unless  he 
either  retreated  or  charged  upon  them  without  waiting  for 
his  brother.  At  length,  with  the  rush  of  a  wild  boar,  he 
courageously  led  the  Christian  troops  against  the  hostile 
army,  as  he  had  already  designed,  for,  although  the  king 
had  not  yet  arrived,  he  relied  upon  God's  counsel  and 
trusted  to  His  aid.  Hence,  having  closed  up  his  shield- 
wall  in  due  order,  he  straightway  advanced  his  standards 
against  the  foe.  <At  length  King  ^thelred,  having  fin- 
ished the  prayers  in  which  he  was  engaged,  came  up,  and, 
having  invoked  the  King  of  the  universe,  entered  upon  the 
engagement.)^ 

39.  The  Heathen  Rout  and  Loss.^  —  But  here  I  must  inform 
those  who  are  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  the  field  of  battle 
was  not  equally  advantageous  to  both  parties,  since  the 
heathen  had  seized  the  higher  ground,  and  the  Christian 
array  was  advancing  up-hill.  In  that  place  there  was  a 
solitary  low  thorn-tree,  which  I  have  seen  with  my  own 
eyes,  and  round  this  the  opposing  forces  met  in  strife  with 
deafening  uproar  from  all,  the  one  side  bent  on  evil,  the 
other  on  fighting  for  life,  and  dear  ones,  and  fatherland. 
When  both  armies  had  fought  bravely  and  fiercely  for  a 
long  while,  the  heathen,  being  unable  by  God's  decree 
longer  to  endure  the  onset  of  the  Christians,  the  larger 
part  of  their  force  being  slain,  betook  themselves  to  shame- 
ful flight.  There  fell  one  of  the  two  heathen  kings  and 
five  ealdormen ;  many  thousand  of  their  men  were  either 
slain  at  this  spot  or  lay  scattered  far  and  wide  over  the 

1  Supplied  by  Stevenson  from  Florence  of  Worcester. 

2  Mostly  original. 


22  ALFRED  COMES  TO  THE  THRONE 

whole  field  of  Ashdown.  Thus  there  fell  King  Bagseeg, 
Ealdorman  Sidroc  the  Elder  and  Ealdorman  Sidroc  the 
Younger,  Ealdorman  Osbern,  Ealdorman  Frsena,  and  Eal- 
dorman Harold ;  and  the  whole  heathen  army  pursued  its 
flight,  not  only  until  night,  but  until  the  next  day,  even 
until  they  reached  the  stronghold^  from  which  they  had 
sallied.  The  Christians  followed,  slaying  all  they  could 
reach,  until  it  became  dark. 

40.  Battle  of  Basing."^  —  After*  fourteen  days  had  elapsed 
King  ^thelred  and  his  brother  Alfred  joined  their  forces, 
and  marched  to  Basing*  to  fight  with  the  heathen.  Having 
thus  assembled,  battle  was  joined,  and  they  held  their  own 
for  a  long  time,  but  the  heathen  gained  the  victory,  and 
held  possession  of  the  battle-field.  After  this  fight,  another 
army  of  heathen  came  from  beyond  sea,  and  joined  them. 

41.  ^thelred's  Death. ^  —  That  same  year,  after  Easter,  the 
aforesaid  King  ^thelred,  having  bravely,  honorably,  and 
with  good  repute  governed  his  kingdom  five  years  through 
many  tribulations,  went  the  way  of  all  flesh,  and  was  bur- 
ied in  Wimborne  Minster,^  where  he  awaits  the  coming  of 
the  Lord  and  the  first  resurrection  with  the  just. 

42.  Alfred  comes  to  the  Throne;  Battle  of  Wilton.^  — 
That  same  year  the  aforesaid  Alfred,  who  had  been  up 
to  that  time,  during  the  lifetime  of  his  brothers,  only 
of  secondary  rank,  now,  on  the  death  of  his  brother,  by 
God's  permission  undertook  the  government  of  the  whole 

1  Probably  Reading.  2  From  the  Chronicle. 

'  Before  this  sentence  occurs  the  following  in  the  Latin :  Quibus 
cum  talia  proesentis  vitoe  dispendia  alienigenis  perperam  quoerentibus 
non  sufficerent  This  may  represent  a  sentence  in  the  author's  draft 
that  was  intended,  owing  to  change  of  construction,  to  be  omitted 
(Stevenson).  4  j^  Hampshire. 

^  Mostly  from  the  Chronicle.  6  j^  Dorsetshire. 

^  Paraphrased  and  amplified  from  the  Chronicle. 


BATTLE  OF  WIL'^'ON  23 

kingdom,  amid  the  acclamations  of  all  the  people ;  and 
indeed,  if  he  had  chosen,  he  might  easily  have  done  so  with 
the  general  consent  whilst  his  brother  above  named  was 
still  alive,  since  in  wisdom  and  every  other  good  quality  he 
surpassed  all  his  brothers,  and  especially  because  he  was 
brave  and  victorious  in  nearly  every  battle.  And  when  he 
had  reigned  a  month  almost  against  his  will  —  for  he  did  not 
think  that  he  alone,  without  divine  aid,  could  sustain  the 
ferocity  of  the  heathen,  though  even  during  his  brothers' 
lifetimes  he  had  borne  the  calamities  of  many  —  he  fought 
a  fierce  battle  with  a  few  men,  and  on  very  unequal  terms, 
against  all  the  army  of  the  heathen,  at  a  hill  called  Wilton, 
on  the  south  bank  of  the  river  Wiley,^  from  which  river 
the  whole  of  that  shire  is  named;  and  after  a  severe 
engagement,  lasting  a  considerable  part  of  the  day,  the 
lieathen,  seeing  the  whole  extent  of  the  danger  they  were 
in,  and  no  longer  able  to  bear  the  attack  of  their  enemies, 
turned  their  backs  and  fled.  But,  shame  to  say,  they 
took  advantage  of  their  pursuers'  rashness,^  and,  again 
rallying,  gained  the  victory  and  kept  the  battle-field.  Let  \ 
no  one  be  surprised  that  the  Christians  had  but  a  small  ' 
number  of  men,  for  the  Saxons  as  a  people  had  been  all 
but  worn  out  by  eight  battles  in  this  selfsame  year  against 
the  heathen,  in  which  there  died  one  king,  nine  chieftains, 
and  innumerable  troops  of  soldiers,  not  to  speak  of  count- 
less skirmishes  both  by  night  and  by  day,  in  which  the  oft- 
named  <King>  Alfred,  and  all  the  leaders  of  that  people,  with 
their  men,  and  many  of  the  king's  thanes,  had  been  engaged 
in  unwearied  strife  against  the  heathen.  How  many  thou- 
sand heathen  fell  in  these  numberless  skirmishes  God  alone 

1  A  tributary  of  the  Nadder,  which  it  joins  near  Wilton. 

2  Or,  perhaps,   '  fewness,'  reading  paucitatem  for  peravdacUatem 
(Stevenson). 


24  THE, DANES  IN  MERCIA 

knows,  over  and  above  those  who  were  slain  in  the  eight 
battles  above  mentioned. 

43.  Peace  made.^  —  In  that  same  year  the  Saxons  made 
peace  with  the  heathen,  on  condition  that  they  should  take 
their  departure ;  and  this  they  did. 

44.  The  Heathen  winter  in  London.^  —  In  the  year  of  our 
Lord's  incarnation  872,  being  the  twenty-fourth  of  King 
Alfred's  life,  the  aforesaid  army  of  heathen  went  to  London, 
and  there  wintered;  and  the  Mercians  made  peace  with 
them. 

45.  The  Heathen  winter  in  Lindsey.^ — In  the  year  of  our 
Lord's  incarnation  873,  being  the  twenty-fifth  of  King 
Alfred's  life,  the  oft-named  army,  leaving  London,  went  into 
Northumbria,  and  there  wintered  in  the  shire  of  Lindsey; 
and  the  Mercians  again  made  peace  with  them. 

46.  The  Danes  in  Mercia.^  —  In  the  year  of  our  Lord's 
incarnation  874,  being  the  twenty-sixth  of  King  Alfred's 
life,  the  above-named  army  left  Lindsey  and  marched  to  Mer- 
cia,  where  they  wintered  at  Kepton.'*  Also  they  compelled 
Burgred,  King  of  Mercia,  against  his  will  to  leave  his  king- 
dom and  go  beyond  sea  to  Eome,  in  the  twenty-second  year 
of  his  reign.  He  did  not  live  long  after  his  arrival  at  Kome, 
but  died  there,  and  was  honorably  buried  in  the  Colony  of 
the  Saxons,^  in  St.  Mary's  church,^  where  he  awaits  the 
Lord's  coming  and  the  first  resurrection  with  the  just.  The 
heathen  also,  after  his  expulsion,  subjected  the  whole  king- 
dom of  Mercia  to  their  dominion ;  but,  by  a  miserable 
arrangement,  gave  it  into  the  custody  of  a  certain  foolish 

1  Mostly  from  the  Chronicle.  ^  From  the  Chronicle. 

8  Chiefly  from  the  Chronicle.  *  In  Derbyshire. 

6  Among  the  Germans  there  were  Colonies  {Scholce)  of  the  Frisians, 
Franks,  and  Lombards,  as  well  as  of  the  Saxons. 
^  Now  Santo  Spirito  in  Sassia,  near  the  "Vatican. 


MOVEMENTS   OF   THE   DANES  25 

man,  named  Ceolwulf,  one  of  the  <king's>  thanes,  on  con- 
dition that  he  should  peaceably  restore  it  to  th6m  on  what- 
soever day  they  should  wish  to  have  it  again ;  and  to  bind 
this  agreement  he  gave  them  hostages,  and  swore  that  he 
would  not  oppose  their  will  in  any  way,  but  be  obedient  to 
them  in  every  respect. 

47.  The  Danes  in  Northumbria  and  Cambridge.^  —  In  the  year 
of  our  Lord's  incarnation  875,  being  the  twenty-seventh  of 
King  Alfred's  life,  the  above-mentioned  army,  leaving 
Repton,  separated  into  two  bodies,  one  of  which  went  with 
Halfdene  into  Northumbria,  and  having  wintered  there 
near  the  Tyne,  and  reduced  all  Northumbria  to  subjection, 
also  ravaged  the  Picts  and  the  people  of  Strathclyde.^ 
The  other  division,  with  Guthrum,^  Oscytel,  and  Anwind, 
three  kings  of  the  heathen,  went  to  Cambridge,  and  there 
wintered. 

48.  Alfred's  Battle  at  Sea.*  —  In  that  same  year  King 
Alfred  fought  a  battle  at  sea  against  six  ships  of  the  heathen, 
and  took  one  of  them,  the  rest  escaping  by  flight. 

49.  Movements  of  the  Danes. ^  —  In  the  year  of  our  Lord's 
incarnation  876,  being  the  twenty-eighth  year  of  King 
Alfred's  life,  the  oft-mentioned  army  of  the  heathen,  leav- 
ing Cambridge  by  night,  entered  a  fortress  called  Wareham,^ 
where  there  is  a  monastery  of  nuns  between  the  two  rivers 
Froom  <and  Tarrant),  in  the  district  which  is  called  in  Welsh 
Durngueir,''  but  in  Saxon  Thornsseta,^  placed  in  a  most 
secure  location,  except  on  the  western  side,  where  there  was 
a  territory  adjacent.  With  this  army  Alfred  made  a  solemn 
treaty  to  the  effect  that  they  should  depart  from  him,  and 

1  From  the  Chronicle.  ^  Chiefly  from  the  Chronicle. 

2  The  valley  of  the  Clyde.  ^  In  Dorsetshire. 

3  Here  spelled  Gothrum.  "^  Dorchester. 

*  From  the  Chronicle.  s  ^or  the  usual  Domsaete. 


26  THE  DANES  AT  CHIPPENHAM 

they  made  no  hesitation  to  give  him  as  many  picked  hos- 
tages as  he  named ;  also  they  swore  an  oath  on  all  the  relics 
in  which  King  Alfred  trusted  next  to  God/  and  on  which 
they  had  never  before  sworn  to  any  people,  that  they  would 
speedily  depart  from  his  kingdom.  But  they  again  practised 
their  usual  treachery,  and  caring  nothing  for  either  hostages 
or  oath,  they  broke  the  treaty,  and,  sallying  forth  by  night, 
slew  all  the  horsemen  [horses  ?]  that  they  had,'^  and,  turn- 
ing off,  started  without  warning  for  another  place  called  in 
Saxon  Exanceastre,  and  in  Welsh  Cairwisc,  which  means 
in  Latin  '  The  City  <of  Exe>,'  situated  on  the  eastern  bank 
of  the  river  Wise,®  near  the  southern  sea  which  divides 
Britain  from  Gaul,  and  there  passed  the  winter. 

50.  Half  dene  partitions  Northumbria.  —  In  that  same  year 
Halfdene,  king  of  that  part  of  Northumbria,  divided  up  the 
whole  .region  between  himself  and  his  men,  and  settled 
there  with  his  army. 

51.  Division  of  Mercia.*  —  The  same  year,  in  the  month  of 
August,  that  army  went  into  Mercia,  and  gave  part  of  the 
district  of  the  Mercians  to  one  Ceolwulf,^  a  weak-minded 
thane  of  the  king ;  the  rest  they  divided  among  themselves. 

52.  The  Danes  at  Chippenham.®  —  In  the  year  of  our  Lord's 
incarnation  878,  being  the  thirtieth  of  King  Alfred's  life, 
the  oft-mentioned  army  left  Exeter,  and  went  to  Chippen- 
ham, a  royal  vill,  situated  in  the  north  of  Wiltshire,  on  the 
east  bank  of  the  river  which  is  called  Avon  in  Welsh,  and 

1  Here  the  Chronicle  has  'on  the  holy  arm-ring,'  on  which  the 
Danes,  it  would  seem,  were  accustomed  to  swear. 

2  Here  the  Chronicle  has :  '  They,  the  mounted  army,  stole  away 
from  the^erd  [the  English  forces]  in  the  night  into  Exeter.'  This,  of 
course,  is  the  true  account,  while  the  statement  in  Asser  is  incredible. 

8  Exe.  8  See  chap.  46. 

*  From  the  Chronicle.  ^  Largely  from  the  Chronicle. 


THE   DANES  DEFEATED  AT  CYNWIT  27 

there  wintered.  And  they  drove  many  of  that  people  by 
their  arms,  by  poverty,  and  by  fear,  to  voyage  beyond  sea, 
and  reduced  almost  all  the  inhabitants  of  that  district  to 
subjection. 

53.  Alfred  in  Somersetshire.  —  At  that  same  time  the 
above-mentioned  King  Alfred,  with  a  few  of  his  nobles,  and 
certain  soldiers  and  vassals,  was  leading  in  great  tribula- 
tion an  unquiet  life  among  the  woodlands  and  swamps  of 
Somersetshire  ;  for  he  had  nothing  that  he  needed  except 
what  by  frequent  sallies  he  could  forage  openly  or  stealthily 
from  the  heathen  or  from  the  Christians  who  had  submitted 
to  the  rule  of  the  heathen.^ 

54.  The  Danes  defeated  at  Cynwit.^  —  In  that  same  year 
the  brother  *  of  Inwar  *  and  Halfdene,  with  twenty-three 
ships,  came,  after  many  massacres  of  the  Christians,  from 
Dyfed,®  where  he  had  wintered,  and  sailed  to  Devon,  where 
with  twelve  hundred  others  he  met  with  a  miserable  death, 
being  slain,  while  committing  his  misdeeds,  by  the  king's 
thanes,  before  the  fortress  of  Cynwit,®  in  which  many  of 
the  king's  thanes,  with  their  followers,  had  shut  themselves 
up  for  safety.  The  heathen,  seeing  that  the  fortress  was 
unprepared  and  altogether  unfortified,  except  that  it  merely 
had  fortifications  after  our  manner,  determined  not  to 
assault  it,  because  that  place  is  rendered  secure  by  its  posi- 
tion on  all  sides  except  the  eastern,  as  I  myself  have  seen, 
but  began  to  besiege  it,  thinking  that  those  men  would 
soon  surrender  from  famine,  thirst,  and  the  blockade,  since 

1  At  this  point  Archbishop  Parker  interpolated,  from  the  Annals 
of  St.  Neots,  the  story  of  Alfred  and  the  cakes.  This  story,  however, 
cannot  be  proved  to  antedate  the  Norman  Conquest. 

2  The  first  clause  from  the  Chronicle;  the  rest  original. 

3  Name  unknown.  s  Qr  South  Wales.    See  chap.  80. 
*  Hingwar.                                     e  site  unknown. 


28  BATTLE  OF  EDINGTON 

there  is  no  water  close  to  the  fortress.  But  the  result  did 
not  fall  out  as  they  expected ;  for  the  Christians,  before 
they  began  at  all  to  suffer  from  such  want,  being  inspired 
by  Heaven,  and  judging  it  much  better  to  gain  either  victory 
or  death,  sallied  out  suddenly  upon  the  heathen  at  day- 
break, and  from  the  first  cut  them  down  in  great  numbers, 
slaying  also  their  king,  so  that  few  escaped  to  their  ships. 

55.  Alfred  at  Athelney.^  —  The  same  year,  after  Easter, 
King  Alfred,  with  a  few  men,  made  a  stronghold  in  a  place 
called  Athelney,"^  and  from  thence  sallied  with  his  vassals 
of  Somerset  to  make  frequent  and  unwearied  assaults  upon 
the  heathen.  And  again,  the  seventh  week  after  Easter,  he 
rode  to  Egbert's  Stone,^  which  is  in  the  eastern  part  of 
Selwood  Forest  (in  Latin  'Great  Forest,'  and  in  Welsh 
Coit  Maur).  Here  he  was  met  by  all  the  neighboring  folk 
of  Somersetshire  and  Wiltshire,  and  such  of  Hampshire 
as  had  not  sailed  beyond  sea  for  fear  of  the  heathen  ;  and 
when  they  saw  the  king  restored  alive,  as  it  were,  after 
such  great  tribulation,  they  were  filled,  as  was  meet,  with 
immeasurable  joy,  and  encamped  there  for  one  night.  At 
daybreak  of  the  following  morning,  the  king  struck  his 
camp,  and  came  to  .^glea,*  where  he  encamped  for  one 
night. 

56.  Battle  of  Edington,  and  Treaty  with  Guthrum.^  —  The 
next  morning  at  dawn  he  moved  his  standards  to  Edington,* 
and  there  fought  bravely  and  perseveringly  by  means  of  a 
close  shield-wall  against  the  whole  army  of  the  heathen, 

1  Mostly  from  the  Chronicle. 

2  In  Somersetshire.  8  Unknown. 

*  Or  perhaps  better,  Iglea ;  see  Stevenson's  note  on  the  word,  p.  270 
of  his  edition.  He  says :  '  It  is  probably  an  older  name  of  Southleigh 
Wood,  or  of  part  of  it.' 

*  Based  upon  the  Chronicle.  ^  In  Wiltshire. 


TREATY  WITH   GUTHRUM  29 

whom  at  length,  with  the  divine  help,  he  defeated  with 
great  slaughter,  and  pursued  them  flying  to  their  strong- 
hold. Immediately  he  slew  all  the  men  and  carried  off  all 
the  horses  and  cattle  that  he  could  find  without  the  fortress, 
and  thereupon  pitched  his  camp,  with  all  his  army,  before 
the  gates  of  the  heathen  stronghold.  And  when  he  had 
remained  there  fourteen  days,  the  heathen,  terrified  by 
hunger,  cold,  fear,  and  last  of  all  by  despair,  begged  for 
peace,  engaging  to  give  the  king  as  many  designated  hos- 
tages as  he  pleased,  and  to  receive  none  from  him  in  return 
—  in  which  manner  they  had  never  before  made  peace 
with  any  one.  The  king,  hearing  this  embassage,  of  his 
own  motion  took  pity  upon  them,  and  received  from  them 
the  designated  hostages,  as  many  as  he  would.  Thereupon 
the  heathen  swore,  besides,  that  they  would  straightway 
leave  his  kingdom ;  and  their  king,  Guthrum,  promised  to 
embrace  Christianity,  and  receive  baptism  at  King  Alfred's 
hands  —  all  of  which  articles  he  and  his  men  fulfilled  as 
they  had  promised.  For  after  (three)  ^  weeks  Guthrum,  king 
of  the  heathen,  with  thirty  "^  men  chosen  from  his  army, 
came  to  Alfred  at  a  place  called  AUer,  near  Athelney,  and 
there  King  Alfred,  receiving  him  as  a  son  by  adoption, 
raised  him  up  from  the  holy  font  of  baptism.  On  the  eighth 
day,  at  a  royal  vill  named  Wedmore,  his  chrism-loosing* 

1  Supplied  by  Stevenson  from  the  Chronicle. 

2  Properly,  as  one  of  thirty,  according  to  the  Chronicle. 

8  Chrism  is  the  term  employed  for  the  mixture  of  oil  and  balsam 
employed  in  the  rite  of  confirmation,  and  sometimes  for  the  ceremony 
of  confirmation  itself.  In  the  early  church,  this  ceremony  immediately 
followed  baptism,  and  was  performed  by  the  laying  on  of  hands.  In 
the  Koman  church  it  is  obligatory  on  all  Catholics,  and  no  baptism  is 
theoretically  complete  without  it.  It  is  performed  by  a  bishop  (only 
exceptionally  by  a  priest).  The  ceremony  begins  with  the  bishop's  ris- 
ing and  facing  the  person  or  persons  to  be  confirmed,  his  pastoral  staff 


30  THE  DANES  GO  TO  CIRENCESTER 

took  place.  After  his  baptism  he  remained  "twelve  days 
with  the  king,  who,  together  with  all  his  companions,  gave 
him  many  rich  gifts. ^ 

57.  The  Danes  go  to  Cirencester.^  —  In  the  year  of  our 
Lord's  incarnation  879,  which  was  the  thirty-first  of  King 
Alfred's  life,  the  aforesaid  army  of  heathen,  leaving  Chip- 
penham, as  they  had  promised,  went  to  Cirencester,  which 
is  called  in  Welsh  Cairceri,  and  is  situated  in  the  southern 

in  his  hand,  and  saying :  '  May  the  Holy  Ghost  come  upon  you,  and 
the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  keep  you  from  sins '  {Handbook  to  Chris- 
tian and  Ecclesiastical  Rome:  Liturgy  in  Rome,  London,  1897,  pp.  169- 
171).  The  rite  is  described  in  Egbert's  Pontifical,  which  may  be  taken 
as  representing  the  custom  in  the  church  of  Alfred's  time.  Lingard 
says  {Anglo-Saxon  Church,  London,  1858,  1.  297):  'According  to  that 
pontifical,  the  bishop  prayed  thus:  "Almighty  and  Everlasting  God, 
who  hast  granted  to  this  thy  servant  to  be  born  again  of  water  and  the 
Holy  Ghost,  and  hast  given  to  him  remission  of  his  sins,  send  down 
upon  him  thy  sevenfold  Holy  Spirit,  the  Paraclete  from  heaven, 
Amen.  Give  to  him  the  spirit  of  wisdom  and  understanding,  Amen  — 
the  spirit  of  counsel  and  fortitude,  Amen  —  the  spirit  of  knowledge 
and  piety.  Amen.  Fill  him  with  the  spirit  of  the  fear  of  God  and  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  mercifully  sign  him  with  the  sign  of  the  holy 
cross  for  life  eternal."  The  bishop  then  marked  his  forehead  with 
chrism,  and  proceeded  thus:  "Receive  this  sign  of  the  holy  cross 
with  the  chrism  of  salvation  in  Christ  Jesus  unto  life  eternal."  The 
head  was  then  bound  with  a  fillet  of  new  linen  to  be  worn  seven  days, 
and  the  bishop  resumed:  "O  God,  who  didst  give  thy  Holy  Spirit  to 
thine  apostles,  that  by  them  and  their  successors  he  might  be  given  to 
the  rest  of  the  faithful,  look  down  on  the  ministry  of  our  lowliness, 
and  grant  that  into  the  heart  of  him  whose  forehead  we  have  this  day 
anointed,  and  confirmed  with  the  sign  of  the  cross,  thy  Holy  Spirit 
may  descend ;  and  that,  dwelling  therein,  he  may  make  it  the  temple 
of  his  glory,  through  Christ  our  Lord."  The  confirmed  then  received 
the  episcopal  blessing,  and  communicated  during  the  mass.' 

The  chrism-loosing  was  the  ceremony  of  unbinding  the  fillet,  appar- 
ently. 

1  MS.  oedificia ;  Stevenson,  benejicia.    ^  Chiefly  from  the  Chronicle. 


ALFRED'S  NAVAL  BATTLE  WITH  THE  DANES   31 

part  of  the  kingdom  of  the  Hwicce,^  and  there  they  remained 
one  year. 

58.  Danes  at  Fulham.^  —  In  that  same  year  a  large  army 
of  heathen  sailed  from  beyond  sea  into  the  river  Thames, 
and  joined  the  greater  army.  However,  they  wintered  at 
Fulham,  near  the  river  Thames. 

59.  An  Eclipse.^  —  In  that  same  year  an  eclipse  *  of  the  sun 
took  place  between  nones  and  vespers,  but  nearer  to  nones. 

60.  The  Danes  in  East  Anglia.^  —  In  the  year  of  our  Lord's 
incarnation  880,  which  was  the  thirty-second  of  King 
Alfred's  life,  the  oft-mentioned  army  of  heathen  left  Ciren- 
cester, and  went  to  East  Anglia,  where  they  divided  up  the 
country  and  began  to  settle. 

61.  The  Smaller  Army  leaves  England.^  —  That  same  year 
the  army  of  heathen,  which  had  wintered  at  Fulham,  left 
the  island  of  Britain,  and  sailed  over  sea  to  East  Frankland, 
where  they  remained  for  a  year  at  a  place  called  Ghent. 

62.  The  Danes  fight  with  the  Franks.  —  In  the  year  of  our 
Lord's  incarnation  881,  whibh  was  the  thirty-third  of  King 
Alfred's  life,  the  army  went  further  on  into  Frankland,  and 
the  Franks  fought  against  them ;  and  after  the  battle  the 
heathen,  obtaining  horses,  became  an  army  of  cavalry. 

63.  The  Danes  on  the  Meuse.''  —  In  the  year  of  our  Lord's 
incarnation  882,  which  was  the  thirty-fourth  of  King 
Alfred's  life,  the  aforesaid  army  sailed  their  ships  up  into 
Frankland  by  a  river  called  the  Meuse,  and  there  wintered 
one  year. 

64.  Alfred's  Naval  Battle  with  the  Danes.^  —  In  that  same 
year  Alfred,  King  of  the  Anglo-Saxons,  fought  a  battle  at 

1  Gloucester,  Worcester,  etc.  ^  From  the  Chronicle. 

2  Mostly  from  the  Chronicle.  ^  Ibid. 

3  Mostly  from  the  Chronicle.  "^  Ibid. 
*  See  Stevenson's  interesting  note.  *  Ibid. 


32      NAVAL  BATTLE  AT  MOUTH  OF  THE  STOUR 

sea  against  tlie  heathen  fleet,  of  which  he  captured  two 
ships,  and  slew  all  who  were  on  board.  Two  commanders 
of  the  other  ships,  with  all  their  crews,  worn  out  by  the 
fight  and  their  wounds,  laid  down  their  arms,  and  submitted 
to  the  king  on  bended  knees  with  many  entreaties. 

65.  The  Danes  at  Cond6.^  —  In  the  year  of  our  Lord's 
incarnation  883,  which  was  the  thirty-fifth  of  King  Alfred's 
life,  the  aforesaid  army  sailed  their  ships  up  the  river  called 
Scheldt  to  a  convent  of  nuns  called  Conde,  and  there 
remained  one  year. 

66.  Deliverance  of  Rochester.^  —  In  the  year  of  our  Lord's 
incarnation  884,  which  was  the  thirty-sixth  of  King  Alfred's 
life,  the  aforesaid  army  divided  into  two  parts:  one  body 
of  them  went  into  East  Frankland,  and  the  other,  coming 
to  Britain,  entered  Kent,  where  they  besieged  a  city  called 
in  Saxon  Eochester,  situated  on  the  east  bank  of  the  river 
Medway.  Before  the  gate  of  the  town  the  heathen  suddenly 
erected  a  strong  fortress ;  but  they  were  unable  to  take  the 
city,  because  the  citizens  defended  themselves  bravely  until 
King  Alfred  came  up  to  help  them  with  a  large  army. 
Then  the  heathen  abandoned  their  fortress  and  all  the 
horses  which  they  had  brought  with  them  out  of  Frank- 
land,  and,  leaving  behind  them  in  the  fortress  the  greater 
part  of  their  prisoners  on  the  sudden  arrival  of  the  king, 
fled  in  haste  to  their  ships  ;  the  Saxons  immediately  seized 
upon  the  prisoners  and  horses  left  by  the  heathen ;  and  so 
the  latter,  compelled  by  dire  necessity,  returned  the  same 
summer  to  Frankland. 

67.  Alfred's  Naval  Battle  at  the  Mouth  of  the  Stour.*  — 
In  that  same  year  Alfred,  King  of  the  Anglo-Saxons, 
shifted  his  fleet,  full  of  fighting  men,  from  Kent  to  East 

1  Mostly  from  the  Chronicle.  ^  Largely  from  the  Chronicle. 

3  Mostly  from  the  Chronicle. 


THE  DANES  IN  OLD  SAXONY  33 

Anglia,^  for  the  sake  of  spoil.  No  sooner  had  they  arrived 
at  the  mouth  of  the  river  Stour  than  thirteen  ships  of 
the  heathen  met  them,  prepared  for  battle ;  a  fierce  naval 
combat  ensued,  and  the  heathen  were  all  slain ;  all  the 
ships,  with  all  their  money,  were  taken.  After  this,  while 
the  victorious  royal  fleet  was  reposing,^  the  heathen  who 
occupied  East  Anglia  assembled  their  ships  from  every 
quarter,  met  the  same  royal  fleet  at  sea  in  the  mouth  of  the 
same  river,  and,  after  a  naval  engagement,  gained  the 
victory. 

68.  Death  of  Carloman,  of  Louis  II,  and  of  Louis  UI.^  — 
In  that  same  year  also,  Carloman,  King  of  the  West 
Franks,  while  engaged  in  a  boar-hunt,  was  miserably  slain 
by  a  boar,  which  inflicted  a  dreadful  wound  on  him  with 
its  tusk.  His  brother  Louis,  who  had  also  been  King  of  the 
Franks,  had  died  the  year  before.  Both  these  were  sons  of 
Louis,*  King  of  the  Franks,  who  also  had  died  in  the  year 
above  mentioned,  in  which  the  eclipse  of  the  sun  took 
place.^  This  Louis  was  the  son  of  Charles,®  King  of  the 
Franks,  whose  daughter  Judith''  .(Ethelwulf,  King  of  the 
West  Saxons,  took  to  queen  with  her  father's  consent. 

69.  The  Danes  in  Old  Saxony.*  —  In  that  same  year  a 
great  army  of  the  heathen  came  from  Germany  ®  into  the 
country  of  the  Old  Saxons,  which  is  called  in  Saxon  Eald- 
Seaxum.  To  oppose  them  the  same  Saxons  and  Frisians 
joined  their  forces,  and  fought  bravely  twice  in  that  same 

1  Cf.  chap.  60. 

2  The  MS.  has  dormiret,  but  perhaps  for  domum  irei,  since  the 
Chronicle  has  hamweard  wendon  (Stevenson);  so  perhaps  we  should 
read  '  was  on  its  way  home. ' 

8  Chiefly  from  the  Chronicle.  *  Charles  the  Bald. 

*  Louis  the  Stammerer.  ''  Cf.  chaps.  11  and  13, 

6  Cf.  chap.  59.  8  From  the  Chronicle. 

9  From  Duisburg,  about  January,  884  (Stevenson). 


34  ASSER  MAKES  A  NEW  BEGINNING 

year.^    In  both  these  battles  the  Christians,  by  God's  mer- 
ciful aid,  gained  the  victory. 

70.  Charles,  King  of  the  Alemanni.'^  —  In  that  same  year 
also,  Charles,  King  of  the  Alemanni,  received  .with  uni- 
versal consent  the  kingdom  of  the  West  Franks,  and  all 
the  kingdoms  which  lie  between  the  Tyrrhene  Sea  and  that 
gulf  ^  situated  between  the  Old  Saxons  and  the  Gauls,  with 
the  exception  of  the  kingdom  of  Armorica.*  This  Charles 
was  the  son  of  King  Louis,^  who  was  brother  of  Charles, 
King  of  the  Franks,  father  of  Judith,  the  aforesaid  queen ; 
these  two  brothers  were  sons  of  Louis,^  Louis  being  the  son 
of  Charlemagne,  son  of  Pepin. 

71.  Death  of  Pope  Marinus.^  —  In  that  same  year  Pope 
Marinus,  of  blessed  memory,  went  the  way  of  all  flesh ;  it 
was  he  who,  for  the  love  of  Alfred,  King  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxons,  and  at  his  request,  generously  freed  the  Saxon 
Colony  in  Rome  from  all  tribute  and  tax.  He  also  sent  to 
the  aforesaid  king  many  gifts  on  that  occasion,  among 
which  was  no  small  portion  of  the  most  holy  and  venerable 
cross  on  which  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  hung  for  the  salva- 
tion of  all  mankind. 

72.  The  Danes  break  their  Treaty.*  —  In  that  same  year 
also  the  army  of  heathen  which  dwelt  in  East  Anglia  dis- 
gracefully broke  the  peace  which  they  had  concluded  with 
King  Alfred. 

73.  Asser  makes  a  New  Beginning.®  —  And  now,  to  return 
to  that  from  which  I  digressed,  lest  I  be  compelled  by  my 

1  There  was  a  battle  in  Frisia,  about  December,  884,  and  a  later  one 
in  Saxony  (Stevenson).  ^  Louis  the  German. 

2  Mainly  from  the  Chronicle.  ^  Louis  the  Pious. 

'  The  North  Sea.  '  Mainly  from  the  Chronicle. 

*  Brittany.  ^  From  the  Chronicle. 

'  Based  upon  the  preface  to  Eginhard's  Life  of  Charlemagne. 


ALFRED'S  MALADIES  35 

long  navigation  to  abandon  the  haven,  of  desired  rest/  I 
propose,  as  far  as  my  knowledge  will  enable  me,  to  speak 
somewhat  concerning  the  life,  character,  and  just  conduct, 
and  in  no  small  degree  concerning  the  deeds,  of  my  lord 
Alfred,  King  of  the  Anglo-Saxons,  after  he  married  the 
said  respected  wife  of  noble  Mercian  race  ;  and,  with  God's 
blessing,  I  will  despatch  it  concisely  and  briefly,  as  I  prom- 
ised, that  I  may  not,  by  prolixity  in  relating  each  new 
event,  offend  the  minds  of  those  who  may  be  somewhat 
hard  to  please. 

74.  Alfred's  Maladies.^  —  While  his  nuptials  were  being 
honorably  celebrated  in  Mercia,  among  innumerable  multi- 
tudes of  both  sexes,  and  after  long  feasts  by  night  and  by  day, 
he  was  suddenly  seized,  in  the  presence  of  all  the  people,  by 
instant  and  overwhelming  pain,  unknown  to  any  physician. 
No  one  there  knew,  nor  even  those  who  daily  see  him  up 
to  the  present  time  —  and  this,  sad  to  say,  is  the  worst  of 
all,  that  it  should  have  continued  uninterruptedly  through 
the  revolutions  of  so  many  years,  from  the  twentieth  to  the 
fortieth  year  of  his  life  and  more  —  whence  such  a  malady 
arose.  Many  thought  that  it  was  occasioned  by  the  favor 
and  fascination  of  the  people  who  surrounded  him  ;  others, 
by  some  spite  of  the  devil,  who  is  ever  jealous  of  good  men  ; 
others,  from  an  unusual  kind  of  fever  ;  while  still  others 
thought  it  was  the  ficus,^  which  species  of  severe  disease 
he  had  had  from  his  childhood.  On  a  certain  occasion  it 
had  come  to  pass  by  the  divine  will  that  when  he  had 
gone  to  Cornwall  on  a  hunting  expedition,  and  had  turned 
out  of  the  road  to  pray  in  a  certain  church  in  which  rests 
Saint  Gueriir  [and  now  also  St.  Neot  reposes  there],*  he 
had  of  his  own  accord  prostrated  himself  for  a  long  time 

1  See  chap.  21.  2  Original.  ^  Perhaps  the  hemorrhoids. 

*  Interpolated  some  time  between  893  and  1000  a.d. 


36  ALFRED'S  MALADIES 

in  silent  prayer  —  since  from  childhood  he  had  been  a  fre- 
quent visitor  of  holy  places  for  prayer  and  the  giving  of 
alms  —  and  there  he  besought  the  mercy  of  the  Lord  that, 
in  his  boundless  clemency,  Almighty  God  would  exchange 
the  torments  of  the  malady  which  then  afflicted  him  for 
some  other  lighter  disease,  provided  that  such  disease 
should  not  show  itself  outwardly  in  his  body,  lest  he  should 
be  useless  and  despised  —  for  he  had  great  dread  of  leprosy 
or  blindness,  or  any  such  complaint  as  instantly  makes 
men  useless  and  despised  at  its  coming.  When  he  had 
finished  his  praying,  he  proceeded  on  his  journey,  and  not 
long  after  felt  within  himself  that  he  had  been  divinely 
healed,  according  to  his  request,  of  that  disorder,  and  that 
it  was  entirely  eradicated,  although  he  had  obtained  even 
this  complaint  in  the  first  flower  of  his  youth  by  his  devout 
and  frequent  prayers  and  supplications  to  God.  For  if  I 
may  be  allowed  to  speak  concisely,  though  in  a  somewhat 
inverted  order,  of  his  zealous  piety  to  God  —  in  his  earliest 
youth,  before  he  married  his  wife,  he  wished  to  establish 
his  mind  in  God's  commandments,  for  he  perceived  that  he 
could  not  abstain  from  carnal  desires  ^ ;  and  because  he 
saw  that  he  should  incur  the  anger  of  God  if  he  did  any- 
thing contrary  to  His  will,  he  used  often  to  rise  at  cock- 
crow and  at  the  matin  hours,  and  go  to  pray  in  churches 
and  at  the  relics  of  the  saints.  There  he  would  prostrate 
himself,  and  pray  that  Almighty  God  in  His  mercy  would 
strengthen  his  mind  still  more  in  the  love  of  His  service, 
converting  it  fully  to  Himself  by  some  infirmity  such  as  he 
might  bear,  but  not  such  as  would  render  him  contempt- 
ible  and  useless  in  worldly  affairs.    Now  when  he  had 

1  In  Alfred's  prayer  at  the  end  of  his  translation  of  Boethius,  one 
of  the  petitions  is :  '  Deliver  me  from  foul  lust  and  from  all  unright- 
eousness.' 


ALFRED'S  CHILDREN  37 

often  prayed  with  much  devotion  to  this  effect,  after  an 
interval  of  some  time  he  incurred  as  a  gift  from  God  the 
before-named  disease  of  the  ficus,  which  he  bore  long  and 
painfully  for  many  years,  even  despairing  of  life,  until  he 
entirely  got  rid  of  it  by  prayer.  But,  sad  to  say,  though 
it  had  been  removed,  a  worse  one  seized  him,  as  I  have 
said,  at  his  marriage,  and  this  incessantly  tormented  him, 
night  and  day,  from  the  twentieth  to  the  forty -fifth  year  of 
his  life.  But  if  ever,  by  God's  mercy,  he  was  relieved  from 
this  infirmity  for  a  single  day  or  night,  or  even  for  the 
space  of  one  hour,  yet  the  fear  and  dread  of  that  terrible 
malady  never  left  him,  but  rendered  him  almost  useless,  as 
he  thought,  in  every  affair,  whether  human  or  divine. 

75.  Alfred's  Children  and  their  Education.^  —  The  sons  and 
daughters  whom  he  had  by  his  wife  above-mentioned  were 
-^thelflsed,  the  eldest,  after  whom  came  Edward,  then 
^thelgivu,  then  ^Ifthryth,  and  -finally  ^thelward  — 
besides  those  who  died  in  childhood.  The  number  of  ...  ^ 
^thelflaed,  when  she  arrived  at  a  marriageable  age,  was 
united  to  ^thelred,^  Ealdorman  of  Mercia.  ^Ethelgivu, 
having  dedicated  her  maidenhood  to  God,  entered  His  serv- 
ice, and  submitted  to  the  rules  of  the  monastic  life,  to 
which  she  was  consecrate,  ^thelward,  the  youngest,  by 
the  divine  counsel  and  by  the  admirable  foresight  of  the 
king,  was  intrusted  to  the  schools  of  literary  training, 
where,  with  the  children  of  almost  all  the  nobility  of  the 
country,  and  many  also  who  were  not  noble,  he  was  under 
the  diligent  care  of  the  teachers.  Books  in  both  languages, 
namely,  Latin  and  Saxon,  were  diligently  read  in  the 
school.*    They  also  learned  to  write  ;  so  that  before  they 

1  Original. 

2  This  is  the  beginning  of  a  corrupt  sentence,  of  which  nothing  has 
been  made.  ^  mS.  Eadredo.  *  See  Appendix  I,  p.  70. 


38  ALFRED'S  VARIED  PURSUITS 

were  of  an  age  to  practise  human  arts,  namely,  hunting 
and  other  pursuits  which  befit  noblemen,  they  became 
studious  and  clever  in  the  liberal  arts.  Edward  and  iElf- 
thryth  were  always  bred  up  in  the  king's  court,  and  received 
great  attention  from  their  tutors  and  nurses ;  nay,  they 
continue  to  this  day,  with  much  love  from  every  one,  to 
show  humbleness,  affability,  and  gentleness  towards  all, 
both  natives  and  foreigners,  while  remaining  in  complete 
subjection  to  their  father.  Nor,  among  the  other  pursuits 
which  appertain  to  this  life  and  are  fit  for  noble  youths, 
are  they  suffered  to  pass  their  time  idly  and  unprofitably 
without  liberal  training ;  for  they  have  carefully  learned 
the  Psalms  ^  and  Saxon  books,  especially  Saxon  poems,  and 
are  in  the  habit  of  making  frequent  use  of  books. 

76.  Alfred's  Varied  Pursuits.^  —  In  the  meantime,  the  king, 
during  the  wars  and  frequent  trammels  of  this  present 
life,  the  invasions  of  the  heathen,  and  his  own  daily  infir- 
mities of  body,  continued  to  carry  on  the  government,  and 
to  practise  hunting  in  all  its  branches ;  to  teach  his  gold- 
smiths ®  and  all  his  artificers,  his  falconers,  hawkers,  and 
dog-keepers ;  to  build  houses,  majestic  and  rich  beyond  all 
custom  of  his  predecessors,  after  his  own  new  designs ;  to 
recite  the  Saxon  books,  and  especially  to  learn  by  heart 
Saxon  poems,*  and  to  make  others  learn  them,  he  alone 
never  ceasing  from  studying  most  diligently  to  the  best  of 
his  ability.  He  daily  attended  mass  and  the  other  services 
of  religion ;  recited  certain  psalms,  together  with  prayers, 
and  the  daily  and  nightly  hour-service  ;  and  frequented  the 
churches  at  night,  as  I  have  said,  that  he  might  pray  in 

1  See  chaps.  24  and  88. 

2  Original. 

8  Cf .  Alfred's  jewel,  and  the  book  upon  it  by  Professor  Earle. 
*  See  chaps.  23  and  75. 


ALFRED'S  VARIED  PURSUITS  39 

secret,  apart  from  others.  He  bestowed  alms  and  largesses 
both  on  natives  and  on  foreigners  of  all  countries  ;  was 
most  affable  and  agreeable  to  all ;  and  was  skilful  in  the 
investigation  of  things  unknown.^  Many  Franks,  Frisians,* 
Gauls,  heathen,'  Welsh,  Irish,*  and  Bretons,®  noble  and 
simple,  submitted  voluntarily  to  his  dominion ;  and  all  of 
them,  according  to  their  worthiness,^  he  ruled,  loved, 
honored,  and  enriched  with  money  and  power,  as  if  they 
had  been  his  own  people.'  Moreover,  he  was  sedulous  and 
zealous  in  the  habit  of  hearing  the  divine  Scriptures  read 
by  his  own  countrymen,  or  if,  by  any  chance  it  so  hap- 
pened that  any  one  arrived  from  abroad,  to  hear  prayers 
in  company  with  foreigners.  His  bishops,  too,  and  all  the 
clergy,  his  ealdormen  and  nobles,  his  personal  attendants 
and  friends,  he  loved  with  wonderful  affection.  Their  sons, 
too,  who  were  bred  up  in  the  royal  household,  were  no  less 
dear  to  him  than  his  own ;  he  never  ceased  to  instruct  them 
in  all  kinds  of  good  morals,  and,  among  other  things,  him- 
self to  teach  them  literature  night  and  day.  But  as  if 
he  had  no  consolation  in  all  these  things,  and  suffered  no 
other  annoyance  either  from  within  or  without,  he  was  so 

1  Our  first  accounts  of  Arctic  exploration  are  from  his  pen.  For  his 
interest  in  geographical  discovery  see  the  narratives  of  Ohthere  and 
Wulfstan,  in  his  translation  of  Orosius.  In  897,  according  to  the 
Chronicle,  he  was  experimenting  with  new  war-galleys :  '  They  were 
almost  twice  as  long  as  the  others.  Some  had  sixty  oars,  some  more. 
They  were  swifter,  steadier,  and  higher  than  the  others,  and  were 
built,  not  on  a  Frisian  or  Danish  model,  but  according  to  his  personal 
notions  of  their  utility.' 

2  There  were  Frisians  in  his  fleet  in  897  (Chronicle). 

'  Northmen ;  such  were  Ohthere  and  Wulfstan  (see  note  1,  above). 

*  Three  such  came  to  him  in  891  (Chronicle). 

6  MS.  Armorici.    See  chap.  102. 

6  Or,  '  degrees '  ;  cf .  p.  60.  ''  See  chap.  101. 


40  ALFRED'S  VARIED  PURSUITS 

harassed  by  daily  and  nightly  sadness  that  he  complained 
and  made  moan  to  the  Lord,  and  to  all  who  were  admitted 
to  his  familiarity  and  affection,  that  Almighty  God  had 
made  him  ignorant  of  divine  wisdom  and  of  the  liberal 
arts  ;  in  this  emulating  the  pious,  famous,  and  wealthy 
Solomon,  King  of  the  Hebrews,  who  at  the  outset,  despis- 
ing all  present  glory  and  riches,  asked  wisdom  of  God,  and 
yet  found  both,  namely,  wisdom  and  present  glory ;  as  it 
is  written,  <  Seek  first  the  kingdom  of  God  and  his  righteous- 
ness, and  all  these  things  shall  be  added  unto  you.'  ^  But 
God,  who  is  always  the  observer  of  the  thoughts  of  the 
inward  mind,  the  instigator  of  meditations  and  of  all  good 
purposes,  and  a  plentiful  aider  in  the  formation  of  good 
desires  —  for  He  would  never  inspire  a  man  to  aim  at  the 
good  unless  He  also  amply  supplied  that  which  the  man 
justly  and  properly  wished  to  have  —  stirred  up  the  king's 
mind  from  within,  not  from  without ;  as  it  is  written,  '  I 
will  hearken  what  the  Lord  God  will  say  concerning  me.'  ^ 
He  would  avail  himself  of  every  opportunity  to  procure 
assistants  in  his  good  designs,  to  aid  him  in  his  strivings 
after  wisdom,  that  he  might  attain  to  what  he  aimed  at ; 
and,  like  a  prudent  bee,^  which,  rising  in  summer  at  early 
morning  from  her  beloved  cells,  steers  her  course  with 
rapid  flight  along  the  uncertain  paths  of  the  air,  and 
descends  on  the  manifold  and  varied  flowers  of  grasses, 
herbs,  and  shrubs,  essaying  that  which  most  pleases  her, 
and  bearing  it  home,  he  directed  the  eyes  of  his  mind  afar, 
and  sought  that  without  which  he  had  not  within,  that  is, 
in  his  own  kingdom.* 

1  Matt.  6.  33.  2  pg.  85.  8. 

8  Cf .  chap.  88 ;  Stevenson  gives  a  number  of  parallels  from  ancient 
and  mediaeval  authors,  beginning  with  Lucretius  (3.  9)  and  Seneca 
{Epist.  84.3).  4  Cf.  chap.  24. 


ALFRED'S  SCHOLARLY  ASSOCIATES  41 

77.  Alfred's  Scholarly  Associates :  Werfrith,  Plegmund, 
^thelstan,  and  Werwulf.^  —  But  God  at  that  time,  as  some 
consolation  to  the  king's  benevolence,  enduring  no  longer 
his  kindly  and  just  complaint,  sent  as  it  were  certain 
luminaries,  namely,  Werfrith,^  Bishop  of  the  church  of 
Worcester,  a  man  well  versed  in  divine  Scripture,  who,  by 
the  king's  command,  was  the  first  to  interpret  with  clear- 
ness and  elegance  the  books  of  the  Dialogues  of  Pope 
Gregory  and  Peter,  his  disciple,  from  Latin  into  Saxon, 
sometimes  putting  sense  for  sense  ;  then  Plegmund,^  a 
Mercian  by  birth.  Archbishop  of  the  church  of  Canterbury, 
a  venerable  man,  endowed  with  wisdom;  besides  ^thel- 
stan  *  and  Werwulf ,  learned  priests  and  clerks,^  Mercians 
by  birth.  These  four  King  Alfred  had  called  to  him  from 
Mercia,  and  he  exalted  them  with  many  honors  and  powers 
in  the  kingdom  of  the  West  Saxons,  not  to  speak  of  those 
■vyhich  Archbishop  Plegmund  and  Bishop  Werfrith  had  in 
Mercia.  By  the  teaching  and  wisdom  of  all  these  the  king's 
desire  increased  continually,  and  was  gratified.  Night  and 
day,  whenever  he  had  any  leisure,  he  commanded  such 
men  as  these  to  read  books  to  him  —  for  he  never  suffered 
himself  to  be  without  one  of  them  —  so  that  he  came  to 
possess  a  knowledge  of  almost  every  book,  though  of  him- 
self he  could  not  yet  understand  anything  of  books,  since 
he  had  not  yet  learned  to  read  anything. 

1  Original. 

2  See  Appendix  I,  p.  69.  In  Alfred's  will  he  gives  "Werfrith  (Wser- 
ferth)  a  hundred  marks. 

8  See  Appendix  I,  p.  71. 

*  Perhaps  Bishop  of  Ramsbury  (909  a.d.).  The  later  MSS.  of  the 
Chronicle  say,  under  the  year  883 :  '  And  in  the  same  year  Sighelm 
and  ^thelstan  took  to  Rome  the  alms  that  King  Alfred  sent,  and  also 
to  India  to  St.  Thomas'  and  St.  Bartholomew's.' 

*  Or,  '  chaplains.'     See  p.  61,  note  6. 


42      ASSER'S  NEGOTIATIONS  WITH  KING  ALFRED 

78.  Grimbald  and  John,  the  Old  Saxon.*  —  But  since  the 
king's  commendable  avarice  could  not  be  gratified  even  in 
this,  he  sent  messengers  beyond  sea  to  Gaul,  to  procure 
teachers,  and  invited  from  thence  Grimbald,^  priest  and 
monk,  a  venerable  man  and  excellent  singer,  learned  in 
every  kind  of  ecclesiastical  discipline  and  in  holy  Scripture, 
and  adorned  with  all  virtues.  He  also  obtained  from  thence 
John,'  both  priest  and  monk,  a  man  of  the  keenest  intellect, 
learned  in  all  branches  of  literature,  and  skilled  in  many 
other  arts.  By  the  teaching  of  these  men  the  king's  mind 
was  greatly  enlarged,  and  he  enriched  and  honored  them 
with  much  power. 

79.  Asset's  Negotiations  with  King  Alfred.*  —  At  that  time 
I  also  came  to  Wessex,  out  of  the  furthest  coasts  of  West- 
ern Wales ;  and  when  I  had  proposed  to  go  to  him  through 
many  intervening  provinces,  I  arrived  in  the  country  of  the 
South  Saxons,  which  in  Saxon  is  called  Sussex,  under  the 
guidance  of  some  of  that  nation ;  and  there  I  first  saw  him 
in  the  royal  vill  which  is  called  Dene.^  He  received  me 
with  kindness,  and,  among  other  conversation,  besought  me 
eagerly  to  devote  myself  to  his  service  and  become  his 
friend,  and  to  leave  for  his  sake  everything  which  I  pos- 
sessed on  the  northern  and  western  side  of  the  Severn, 
promising  he  would  give  me  more  than  an  equivalent  for 
it,  as  in  fact  he  did.  I  replied  that  I  could  not  incautiously 
and  rashly  promise  such  things  ;  for  it  seemed  to  me  unjust 
that  I  should  leave  those  sacred  places  in  which  I  had  been 

1  Original. 

2  Probably  from  the  monastery  of  St.  Bertin,  at  St.  Omer  (Pas-de- . 
Calais).    See  Appendix  I,  p.  71,  and  Appendix  II,  pp.  75  ff. 

3  Cf.  chap.  94,  and  Appendix  I,  p.  71. 
*  Original. 

5  Perhaps  Dean,  near  Eastbourne,  in  Sussex. 


ASSER'S  NEGOTIATIONS  WITH  KING  ALFRED      43 

bred  and  educated,  where  I  had  received  the  tonsure,  and 
had  at  length  been  ordained,  for  the  sake  of  any  earthly 
honor  and  power,  unless  by  force  and  compulsion.  Upon 
this  he  said  :  '  If  you  cannot  accede  to  this,  at  least  grant 
me  half  your  service  :  spend  six  months  with  me  here,  and 
six  in  Wales.'  To  this  I  replied  :  '  I  could  not  easily  or 
rashly  promise  even  that  without  the  approval  of  my 
friends.'  At  length,  however,  when  I  perceived  that  he 
was  really  anxious  for  my  services,  though  I  knew  not 
why,  I  promised  him  that,  if  my  life  were  spared,  I  would 
return  to  him  after  six  months,  with  such  a  reply  as  should 
b&  agreeable  to  him  as  well  as  advantageous  to  me  and 
mine.  With  this  q,nswer  he  was  satisfied ;  and  when  I  had 
given  him  a  pledge  to  return  at  the  appointed  time,  on  the 
fourth  day  we  rode  away  from  him,  and  returned  to  my 
own  country.  After  our  departure,  a  violent  fever  seized 
me  in  the  city  of  Cserwent,^  where  I  lay  for  twelve  months 
and  one  week,  night  and  day,  without  hope  of  recovery. 
When  at  the  appointed  time,  therefore,  I  had  not  fulfilled 
my  promise  of  visiting  him,  he  sent  letters  to  hasten  my 
journey  on  horseback  to  him,  and  to  inquire  the  cause  of 
my  delay.  As  I  was  unable  to  ride  to  him,  I  sent  a  reply 
to  make  known  to  him  the  cause  of  my  delay,  and  assure 
him  that,  if  I  recovered  from  my  illness,  I  would  fulfil  what 
I  had  promised.  My  disease  finally  left  me,  and  accord- 
ingly, by  the  advice  and  consent  of  all  my  friends,  for  the 
benefit  of  that  holy  place  and  of  all  who  dwelt  therein, 
I  devoted  myself  to  the  king's  service  as  I  had  promised,  the 
condition  being  that  I  should  remain  with  him  six  months 

^  Five  miles  southwest  of  Chepstow.  '  There  was  an  abbey  there, 
where  a  traveling  ecclesiastic  would  be  likely  to  stay,  and  it  was  on 
the  great  Roman  road  to  South  Wales,  by  which  a  traveler  from  Wes- 
sex  to  St.  Davids  would  proceed '  (Stevenson). 


44     WELSH  PRINCES  WHO  SUBMIT  TO  ALFRED 

every  year,  either  continuously,  if  I  could  spend  six  months 
with  him  at  once,  or  alternately,  three  months  in  Wales 
and  three  in  Wessex.  It  was  also  understood  that  he 
should  in  all  ways  be  helpful  to  St.  Davids,  as  far  as  his 
power  extended.^  For  my  friends  hoped  by  this  means  to 
sustain  less  tribulation  and  harm  from  King  Hemeid — who 
often  plundered  that  monastery  and  the  parish  of  St.  Davids, 
and  sometimes  expelled  the  bishops  who  ruled  over  it,  as 
he  did  Archbishop  Nobis,  my  relative,  and  on  occasion 
myself,  their  subordinate  —  if  in  any  way  I  could  secure 
the  notice  and  friendship  of  the  king. 

80.  The  Welsh  Princes  who  submit  to  Alfred.^  — At  that 
time,  and  long  before,  all  the  countries  in  South  Wales 
belonged  to  King  Alfred,  and  still  belong  to  him.  For 
instance.  King  Hemeid,  with  all  the  inhabitants  of  the 
region  of  Dyfed,*  restrained  by  the  violence  of  the  six  sons 
of  Rhodri,*  had  submitted  to  the  dominion  of  the  king. 
Howel  also,  son  of  Ris,  King  of  Glywyssing,^  and  Broch- 
mail  and  Fernmail,  sons  of  Mouric,  kings  of  Gwent,®  com- 
pelled by  the  violence  and  tyranny  of  Ealdorman  .^thelred 
and  of  the  Mercians,  of  their  own  accord  sought  out  the  same 
king,''  that  they  might  enjoy  rule  and  protection  from  him 
against  their  enemies.  Helised,  also,  son  of  Teudubr,  King 
of  Brecknock,  compelled  by  the  violence  of  the  same  sons 
of  Rhodri,  of  his  own  accord  sought  the  lordship  of  the 

•  1  The  MS.  seems  to  be  corrupt  at  this  point,  so  that  what  I  have 
given  is  a  loose  conjectural  rendering  of  the  Latin :  .  .  .  et  ilia  adjuva- 
retur  per  rudimenta  Sancti  Dequi  in  omni  causa,  tamen  pro  viribus. 

2  Original. 

8  Pembrokeshire  and  part  of  Carmarthenshire. 

*  '  Rhodri  Mawr  (the  Great),  King  of  Gwyneth,  who  acquired  the 
rule  of  the  whole  of  North  and  Mid- Wales  and  Cardigan'  (Stevenson). 

6  Old  name  of  Glamorgan  and  part  of  Monmouthshire. 

8  In  Monmouthshire.  ''  Alfred. 


HOW  ALFRED  REWARDS  SUBAUSSION  45 

aforesaid  king  ;  and  Anarawd,  son  of  Rhodri,  with  his 
brothers,  at  length  abandoning  the  friendship  of  the  North- 
umbrians, from  whom  he  had  received  no  good,  but  rather 
harm,  came  into  King  Alfred's  presence,  and  eagerly 
sought  his  friendship.  The  king  received  him  with  honor, 
adopted  him  as  his  son  by  confirmation  from  the  bishop's 
hand,^  and  bestowed  many  gifts  upon  him.  Thus  he  became 
subject  to  the  king  with  all  his  people,  on  condition  that 
he  should  be  obedient  to  the  king's  will  in  all  respects,  in 
the  same  way  as  ^thelred  and  the  Mercians. 

81.  How  Alfred  rewards  Submission.^  —  Nor  was  it  in  vain 
that  they  all  gained  the  friendship  of  the  king.  For  those 
who  desired  to  augment  their  worldly  power  obtained  power ; 
those  who  desired  money  gained  money ;  those  who  desired 
his  friendship  acquired  his  friendship ;  those  who  wished 
more  than  one  secured  more  than  one.  But  all  of  them 
had  his  love  and  guardianship  and  defense  from  every 
quarter,  so  far  as  the  king,  with  all  his  men,  could  defend 
himself.  When  therefore  I  had  come  to  him  at  the  royal 
vill  called  Leonaford,*  I  was  honorably  received  by  him, 
and  remained  that  time  with  him  at  his  court  eight  months  ; 
during  which  I  read  to  him  whatever  books  he  liked,  of 
such  as  he  had  at  hand ;  for  this  is  his  peculiar  and  most 
confirmed  habit,  both  night  and  day,  amid  all  his  other 
occupations  of  mind  and  body,*  either  himself  to  read  books, 
or  to  listen  to  the  reading  of  others.  And  when  I  fre- 
quently had  sought  his  permission  to  return,  and  had  in  no 

1  See  chaps.  8  and  56.  2  Original. 

8  Perhaps  Landlord  in  Wiltshire. 

*  In  Alfred's  Preface  to  his  translation  of  Boethius  we  are  told : 
'  [He  made  this  translation  as  well  as  he  could],  considering  the  various 
and  manifold  worldly  cares  that  oft  troubled  him  both  in  mind  and 
body.'    The  similarity  of  phrase  is  striking. 


46  THE  SIEGE  OF  PARIS 

way  been  able  to  obtain  it,  at  length,  when  I  had  made  up 
my  mind  by  all  means  to  demand  it,  he  called  me  to  him  at 
twilight  on  Christmas  Eve,  and  gave  me  two  letters  in  which 
was  a  manifold  list  of  all  the  things  which  were  in  the  two 
monasteries  which  are  called  in  Saxon  Congresbury  and 
Banwell^;  and  on  that  same  day  he  delivered  to  me  those 
two  monasteries  with  everything  in  them,  together  with  a 
silken  pallium  of  great  value,  and  of  incense  a  load  for  a 
strong  man,  adding  these  words,  that  he  did  not  give  me 
these  trifling  presents  because  he  was  unwilling  hereafter 
to  give  me  greater.  For  in  the  course  of  time  he  unexpect- 
edly gave  me  Exeter,  with  the  whole  diocese  which  belonged 
to  him  in  Wessex  and  in  Cornwall,  besides  gifts  every  day 
without  number  of  every  kind  of  worldly  wealth ;  these  it 
would  be  too  long  to  enumerate  here,  lest  it  should  weary 
my  readers.  But  let  no  one  suppose  that  I  have  mentioned 
these  presents  in  this  place  for  the  sake  of  glory  or  flattery, 
or  to  obtain  greater  honor  ;  I  call  God  to  witness  that  I 
have  not  done  so,  but  that  I  might  certify  to  those  who  are 
ignorant  how  profuse  he  was  in  giving.  He  then  at  once 
gave  me  permission  to  ride  to  those  two  monasteries,  so  full 
of  all  good  things,  and  afterwards  to  return  to  my  own. 

82.  The  Siege  of  Paris.^  —  In  the  year  of  our  Lord's  incar- 
nation 886,  which  was  the  thirty-eighth  of  King  Alfred's 
life,  the  army  so  often  mentioned  again  fled  the  country, 
and  went  into  that  of  the  West  Franks.  Entering  the 
river  Seine  with  their  vessels,  they  sailed  up  it  as  far  as  the 
city  of  Paris  ;  there  they  wintered,  pitching  their  camp  on 
both  sides  of  the  river  almost  to  the  bridge,  in  order  that 
they  might  prevent  the  citizens  from  crossing  the  bridge  — 
since  the  city  occupies  a  small  island  in  the  middle  of  the 

1  Both  in  Somersetshire ;  these  monasteries  are  otherwise  unknown. 

2  Largely  from  the  Chronicle. 


DIVISION  OF  THE   EMPIRE  47 

stream.  They  besieged  the  city  for  a  whole  year,  but,  by 
the  merciful  favor  of  God,  and  by  reason  of  the  brave 
defense  of  the  citizens,  they  could  not  force  their  way  inside 
the  walls. 

83.  Alfred  rebuilds  London.^  —  In  that  same  year  Alfred, 
King  of  the  Anglo-Saxons,  after  the  burning  of  cities  and 
massacres  of  the  people,  honorably  rebuilt  the  city  of 
London,  made  it  habitable,  and  gave  it  into  the  custody  of 
-(Ethelred,  Ealdorman  of  Mercia.  To  this  king^  all  the 
Angles  and  Saxons  who  hitherto  had  been  dispersed  every- 
where, or  were  in  captivity  with  the  heathen,*  voluntarily 
turned,  and  submitted  themselves  to  his  rule.* 

84.  The  Danes  leave  Paris. ^  —  In  the  year  of  our  Lord's 
incarnation  887,  which  was  the  thirty-ninth  of  King  Alfred's 
life,  the  above-mentioned  army  of  the  heathen,  leaving  the 
city  of  Paris  uninjured,  since  otherwise  they  could  get  no 
advantage,  passed  under  the  bridge  and  rowed  their  j&eet 
up  the  river  Seine  for  a  long  distance,  until  they  reached 
the  mouth  of  the  river  Marne  ;  here  they  left  the  Seine, 
entered  the  mouth  of  the  Marne,  and,  sailing  up  it  for  a 
good  distance  and  a  good  while,  at  length,  not  without 
labor,  arrived  at  a  place  called  Chezy,  a  royal  vill,  where 
they  wintered  a  whole  year.  In  the  following  year  they 
entered  the  mouth  of  the  river  Yonne,  not  without  doing 
much  damage  to  the  country,  and  there  remained  one  year. 

85.  Division  of  the  Empire.^  —  In  that  same  year  Charles,'' 
King  of  the  Franks,  went  the  way  of  all  flesh ;  but  Arnolf , 

1  Largely  from  the  Chronicle.  2  Namely,  Alfred. 

8  A  mistranslation  from  the  Chronicle;  it  should  read,  '  were  not  in 
captivity,'  etc. 

*  Here  follows  Camden's  famous  (forged  ?)  interpolation  about 
Grimbald  and  Oxford.  ^  From  the  Chronicle, 

6  Much  expanded  from  the  Chronicle.  ''  Charles  the  Fat. 


48  ALFRED'S  MANUAL 

his  brother's  son,  six  weeks  before  he  died,  had  expelled 
him  from  the  kingdom.  Immediately  after  his  death  five 
kings  were  ordained,  and  the  kingdom  was  split  into  five 
parts ;  but  the  principal  seat  of  the  kingdom  justly  and 
deservedly  fell  to  Arnolf,  were  it  not  that  he  had  shame- 
fully sinned  against  his  uncle.  The  other  four  kings  prom- 
ised fidelity  and  obedience  to  Arnolf,  as  was  meet;  for 
none  of  these  four  kings  was  heir  to  the  kingdom  on  his 
father's  side,  as  was  Arnolf;  therefore,  though  the  five 
kings  were  ordained  immediately  upon  the  death  of  Charles, 
yet  the  Empire  remained  to  Arnolf.  Such,  then,  was  the 
division  of  that  realm  ;  Arnolf  received  the  countries  to 
the  east  of  the  river  Rhine  ;  Rudolf  the  inner  part  of  the 
kingdom  ^ ;  Odo  the  western  part ;  Berengar  and  Wido, 
Lombardy,  and  those  countries  which  are  on  that  side  of 
the  mountain.  But  they  did  not  keep  such  and  so  great 
dominions  in  peace  among  themselves,  for  they  twice 
fought  a  pitched  battle,  and  often  mutually  ravaged  those 
kingdoms,  and  drove  one  another  out  of  their  dominions. 

86.  Alfred  sends  Alms  to  Rome.^  —  In  the  same  year  in 
which  that  army  left  Paris  and  went  to  Chezy,'  j3Ethel- 
helm,  Ealdorman  of  Wiltshire,  carried  to  Rome  the  alms 
of  King  Alfred  and  of  the  Saxons. 

87.  Alfred  begins  to  translate  from  Latin.*  —  In  that  same 
year  also  the  oft-mentioned  Alfred,  King  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxons,  by  divine  inspiration  first  began,  on  one  and  the 
same  day,  to  read  and  to  translate  ;  but  that  this  may  be 
clearer  to  those  who  are  ignorant,  I  will  relate  the  cause  of 
this  long  delay  in  beginning. 

88.  Alfred's  Manual.^ —  On  a  certain  day  we  were  both  of 
us  sitting  in  the  king's  chamber,  talking  on  all  kinds  of 

1  Burgundy.  2  Chiefly  from  the  Chronicle. 

3  Cf.  chap.  84.  *  Original.  ^  Original. 


ALFRED'S  MANUAL  49 

subjects,  as  usual,  and  it  happened  that  I  read  to  him  a 
quotation  out  of  a  certain  book.  Wliile  he  was  listening  to 
it  attentively  with  both  ears,  and  pondering  it  deeply  with 
his  inmost  mind,  he  suddenly  showed  me  a  little  book^ 
which  he  carried  in  his  bosom,  wherein  were  written  the 
daily  course,  together  with  certain  Psalms  and  prayers 
which  he  had  read  in  his  youth,  and  thereupon  bade  me 
write  the  quotation  in  that  book.  Hearing  this,  and  per- 
ceiving in  part  his  active  intelligence  and  goodness  of 
heart,  together  with  his  devout  resolution  of  studying 
divine  wisdom,  I  gave,  though  in  secret,  yet  with  hands 
uplifted  to  heaven,  boundless  thanks  to  Almighty  God,  who 
had  implanted  such  devotion  to  the  study  of  wisdom  in  the 
king's  heart.  But  since  I  could  find  no  blank  space  in  that 
book  wherein  to  write  the  quotation,  it  being  all  full  of 
various  matters,  I  delayed  a  little,  chiefly  that  I  might  stir 
up  the  choice  understanding  of  the  king  to  a  higher  knowl- 
edge of  the  divine  testimonies.  Upon  his  urging  me  to 
make  haste  and  write  it  quickly,  I  said  to  him,  <  Are  you 
willing  that  I  should  write  that  quotation  on  some  separate 
leaf  ?  Perhaps  we  shall  find  one  or  more  other  such  which 
will  please  you ;  and  if  that  should  happen,  we  shall  be  glad 
that  we  have  kept  this  by  itself.'  'Your  plan  is  good,' 
said  he  ;  so  I  gladly  made  haste  to  get  ready  a  pamphlet 
of  four  leaves,  at  the  head  of  which  I  wrote  what  he  had 
bidden  me  ;  and  that  same  day  I  wrote  in  it,  at  his  request, 
and  as  I  had  predicted,  no  less  than  three  other  quotations 
which  pleased  him.  From  that  time  we  daily  talked 
together,  and  investigated  the  same  subject  by  the  help  of 
other  quotations  which  we  found  and  which  pleased  him, 
so  that  the  pamphlet  gradually  became  full,  and  deservedly 
so,  for  it  is  written,  'The  righteous  man  builds  upon  a 
1  Cf.  chap.  24. 


60  ALFRED'S  HANDBOOK 

moderate  foundation,  and  by  degrees  passes  to  greater 
things.'  ^  Thus,  like  a  most  productive  bee,  flying  far  and 
wide,  and  scrutinizing  the  fenlands,  he  eagerly  and  unceas- 
ingly collected  various  flowers  of  Holy  Scripture,  with 
which  he  copiously  stored  the  cells  of  his  mind.^ 

89.  Alfred's  Handbook.^  —  When  that  first  quotation  had 
been  copied,  he  was  eager  at  once  to  read,  and  to  translate 
into  Saxon,  and  then  to  teach  many  others  —  even  as  we 
are  assured  concerning  that  happy  thief  who  recognized 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  his  Lord,  aye,  the  Lord  of  all  men, 
as  he  was  hanging  on  the  venerable  gallows  of  the  holy 
cross,  and,  with  trustful  petition,  casting  down  of  his  body  no 
more  than  his  eyes,  since  he  was  so  entirely  fastened  with 
nails  that  he  could  do  nothing  else,  cried  with  humble 
voice,  '  0  Christ,  remember  me  when  thou  comest  into  thy 
kingdom  ! '  *  —  since  it  was  only  on  the  cross  that  he  began  to 
learn  the  elements  of  the  Christian  faith.^  Inspired  by  God, 
he  began  the  rudiments  of  Holy  Scripture  on  the  sacred  feast 
of  St.  Martin.®  Then  he  went  on,  as  far  as  he  was  able,  to 
learn  the  flowers''  collected  from  various  quarters  by  any 
and  all  of  his  teachers,  and  to  reduce  them  into  the  form  of 
one  book,  although  jumbled  together,  until  it  became  almost 
as  large  as  a  psalter.    This  book  he  called  his  Enchiridion  ^ 

1  Author  unknown.  s  Original. 

2  Cf.  chap.  76.  •    4  Luke  23.  42. 

6  The  following  phrases,  introduced  at  this  point,  seem  to  be  cor- 
rupt :  Hie  aut  aliter,  quamvia  dissimili  modo,  in  regia  potestate. 

6  November  11. 

''  Alfred  calls  the  passages  which  he  translated  from  St.  Augustine's 
Soliloquies  by  the  name  of  'flowers'  or  'blossoms'  (blostman).  See 
Hargrove's  edition  (Yale  Studies  in  English  XIII),  and  his  version  into 
modern  English  (Yale  Studies  in  English  XXII). 

8  The  application  of  the  word  to  a  work  of  St.  Augustine's  gave  it 
great  currency  in  the  Frankish  Latin  of  the  period. 


ALFRED'S  TROUBLES  61 

or  Handbook,^  because  he  carefully  kept  it  at  hand  day 
and  night,  and  found,  as  he  then  used  to  say,  no  small 
consolation  therein. 

90.  Illustration  from  the  Penitent  Thief. '^  —  But,  as  it  was 
written  by  a  wise  man,' 

Of  watchful  minds  are  they  whose  pious  care 
It  is  to  govern  well, 

I  see  that  I  must  be  especially  watchful,  in  that  I  just  now 
drew  a  kind  of  comparison,  though  in  dissimilar  manner,* 
between  the  happy  thief  and  the  king ;  for  the  cross  is 
hateful  to  every  one  in  distress.^  But  what  can  he  do,  if  he 
cannot  dislodge  himself  or  escape  thence  ?  or  in  what  way 
can  he  improve  his  condition  by  remaining  there?  He 
must,  therefore,  whether  he  will  or  no,  endure  with  pain 
and  sorrow  that  which  he  is  suffering. 

91.  Alfred's  Troubles.*  —  Now  the  king  was  pierced  with 
many  nails  of  tribulation,  though  established  in  the  royal 
sway;  for  from  the  twentieth  year  of  his  age  to  the  present 
year,  which  is  his  forty -fifth,''  he  has  been  constantly  afflicted 
with  most  severe  attacks  of  an  unknown  disease,  so  that 
there  is  not  a  single  hour  in  which  he  is  not  either  suffer- 
ing from  that  malady,  or  nigh  to  despair  by  reason  of 
the  gloom  which  is  occasioned  by  his  fear  of  it.  Moreover 
the  constant  invasions  of  foreign  nations,  by  which  he  was 
continually  harassed  by  land  and  sea,  without  any  interval 
of  quiet,  constituted  a  sufficient  cause  of  disturbance. 

What  shall  I  say  of  his  repeated  expeditions  against 
the  heathen,  his  wars,  and  the  incessant  occupations  of 

1  The  Handbook  seems  to  have  been  known  to  William  of  Malmes- 
bury  (d.  1143);  cf.  his  Gesta  Pontijicum,  pp.  333,  336. 

2  Original.  ^  Unknown.         *  Cf.  note  5,  chap.  89. 

6  .  .  .  iinicuique  ubicumque  male  habet.     *  Original.      ''  Cf .  chap.  74. 


52  ALFRED'S  TROUBLES 

government  ?  Of  the  daily  ...  of  the  ^  nations  which  dwell 
on  ^  the  Tyrrhene  ^  Sea  to  the  farthest  end  of  Ireland  ?  For 
we  have  seen  and  read  letters,  accompanied  with  presents, 
which  were  sent  to  him  from  Jerusalem  by  the  patriarch 
Elias.'*  What  shall  I  say  of  his  restoration  of  cities  and 
towns,  and  of  others  which  he  built  where  none  had  been 
before  ?  of  golden  and  silver  buildings,**  built  in  incompa- 
rable style  under  his  direction?  of  the  royal  halls  and 
chambers,  wonderfully  erected  of  stone  and  wood  at  his 
command  ?  of  the  royal  vills  constructed  of  stones  removed 
from  their  old  site,  and  finely  rebuilt  by  the  king's  com- 
mand in  more  fitting  places? 

Not  to  speak  of  the  disease  above  mentioned,  he  was 
disturbed  by  the  quarrels  of  his  subjects,®  who  would  of 
their  own  choice  endure  little  or  no  toil  for  the  common 
need  of  the  kingdom.    He  alone,  sustained  by  the  divine 

1  MS.  corrupt :  Be  cotidiana  nationum. 

2  This  makes  no  sense ;  yet  the  Latin  is :  quce  in  Tyrreno  mari  usque 
ultimum  HibernicBfinem  habitant. 

8  Cf.  chap.  70. 

*  Perhaps  Elias  III,  patriarch  from  about  879  to  907  ;  the  MS.  reads 
Abel.  Stevenson's  emendation  is  supported  by  the  fact  that  certain 
medical  recipes  are  related  to  have  been  sent  to  Alfred  by  the  patriarch 
Elias  (Cockayne,  LeecMoms  2.  290). 

5  Stevenson  says :  '  Possibly  he  intended  to  refer  to  the  use  of  the  pre- 
cious metals  in  sacred  edifices.  We  are  told,  on  the  doubtful  authority 
of  William  of  Malmesbury,  that  King  Ine  built  a  chapel  of  gold  and 
silver  at  Glastonbury.  A  ninth-century  writer  records  that  Ansegis, 
abbot  of  Fontenelle,  806-833,  partly  decorated  a  spire  of  the  abbey  v?ith 
gilt  metal,  and  another  writer  of  that  period  mentions  the  golden  doors 
of  the  "  basilica"  of  St.  Alban  in  his  description  of  the  imperial  palace 
at  Ingelheim.  Giraldus  Cambrensis  ascribes  the  use  of  golden  roofs  or 
roof-crests  to  the  Romans  at  Caerleon-ouyUsk.  The  idea  that  a  king's 
palace  ought  to  be  decorated  with  the  precious  metals  is  probably  an 
outcome  of  the  late  Roman  rhetoric  and  Byzantine  magnificence.' 

8  The  early  part  of  the  sentence  is  corrupt  in  the  MS. 


ALFRED'S  TROUBLES  53 

aid,  once  he  had  assumed  the  helm  of  government,  strove 
in  every  way,  like  a  skilful  pilot,  to  steer  ^  his  ship,  laden 
with  much  wealth,  into  the  safe  and  longed-for  harbor  of 
his  country,  though  almost  all  his  crew  were  weary,  suffer- 
ing them  not  to  faint  or  hesitate,  even  amid  the  waves 
and  manifold  whirlpools  of  this  present  life.  Thus  his 
bishops,  earls,  nobles,  favorite  thanes,  and  prefects,  who, 
next  to  God  and  the  king,  had  the  whole  government  of 
the  kingdom,  as  was  fitting,  continually  received  from  him 
instruction,  compliment,  exhortation,  and  command;  nay, 
at  last,  if  they  were  disobedient,  and  his  long  patience  was 
exhausted,  he  would  reprove  them  severely,  and  censure 
in  every  way  their  vulgar  folly  and  obstinacy;  and  thus 
he  wisely  gained  and  bound  them  to  his  own  wishes  and 
the  common  interests  of  the  whole  kingdom.  But  if,  owing 
to  the  sluggishness  of  the  people,  these  admonitions  of  the 
king  were  either  not  fulfilled,  or  were  begun  late  at  the 
moment  of  necessity,  and  so,  because  they  were  not  carried 
through,  did  not  redound  to  the  advantage  of  those  who 
put  them  in  execution  —  take  as  an  example  the  fortresses 
which  he  ordered,  but  which  are  not  yet  begun  or,  begun 
late,  have  not  yet  been  completely  finished — when  hostile 
forces  have  made  invasions  by  sea,  or  land,  or  both,  then 
those  who  had  set  themselves  against  the  imperial  orders 
have  been  put  to  shame  and  overwhelmed  with  vain  repent- 
ance. I  speak  of  vain  repentance  on  the  authority  of 
Scripture,  whereby  numberless  persons  have  had  cause  for 
sorrow  when  they  have  been  smitten  by  great  harm  through 
the  perpetration  of  deceit.  But  though  by  this  means,  sad 
to  say,  they  may  be  bitterly  afflicted,  and  roused  to  grief  by 
the  loss  of  fathers,  wives,  children,  thanes,  man  servants, 
maid  servants,  products,  and  all  their  household  stuff, 
1  The  figure  is  found  as  early  as  Sophocles  and  Aristophanes. 


64  ALFRED  BUILDS  TWO  MONASTERIES 

what  is  the  use  of  hateful  repentance  when  their  kinsmen 
are  dead,  and  they  cannot  aid  them,  or  redeem  from  dire 
captivity  those  who  are  captive  ?  for  they  cannot  even  help 
themselves  when  they  have  escaped,  since  they  have  not 
wherewithal  to  sustain  their  own  lives.  Sorely  exhausted 
by  a  tardy  repentance,  they  grieve  over  their  carelessness 
in  despising  the  king's  commands ;  they  unite  in  praising 
his  wisdom,  promising  to  fulfil  with  all  their  might  what 
before  they  had  declined  to  do,  namely,  in  the  construction 
of  fortresses,  and  other  things  useful  to  the  whole  kingdom. 
92.  Alfred  builds  two  Monasteries.^  —  Concerning  his  desire 
and  intent  of  excellent  meditation,  which,  in  the  midst 
both  of  prosperity  and  adversity,  he  never  in  any  way 
neglected,  I  cannot  in  this  place  with  advantage  forbear  to 
speak.  For,  when  he  was  reflecting,  according  to  his  wont, 
upon  the  need  of  his  soul,*^  he  ordered,  among  the  other 
good  deeds  to  which  his  thoughts  were  by  night  and  day  ' 
especially  turned,  that  two  monasteries  should  be  built, 
one  of  them  being  for  monks  at  Athelney.*  This  is  a  place 
surrounded  by  impassable  fens  and  waters  on  every  hand, 
where  no  one  can  enter  but  by  boats,  or  by  a  bridge  labo- 
riously constructed  between  two  fortresses,  at  the  western 
end  of  which  bridge  was  erected  a  strong  citadel,  of  beauti- 
ful work,  by  command  of  the  aforesaid  king.  In  this  mon- 
astery he  collected  monks  of  all  kinds  from  every  quarter, 
and  there  settled  them. 

^  Original. 

*  This  corresponds  to  the  OE.  sawle  J>earf. 

2  The  Latin  has :  inter  cetera  diutuma  et  noctuma  bona.  Stevenson 
does  not  emend,  but  it  seems  as  though  we  should  read  diurna.  Com- 
pare, for  example,  in  Stevenson's  edition,  78.  14,  35,  39;  99.  10; 
100.  11;  103.  9. 

*  Cf .  chap.  55.  The  second  monastery  was  for  nuns,  and  at  Shaftes- 
bury ;  see  chap.  98. 


A  CRIME  COMMITTED  AT  ATHELNEY  65 

93.  Monasticism  was  decayed.^  —  At  first  he  had  no  one  of 
his  own  nation,  noble  and  free  by  birth,  who  was  willing 
to  enter  the  monastic  life,  except  children,  who  as  yet  could 
neither  choose  good  nor  reject  evil  by  reason  of  their  tender 
years.  This  was  the  case  because  for  many  years  previous 
the  love  of  a  monastic  life  had  utterly  decayed  in  that  as 
well  as  in  many  other  nations;  for,  though  many  monas- 
teries still  remain  in  that  country,  yet  no  one  kept  the  rule 
of  that  kind  of  life  in  an  orderly  way,  whether  because  of 
the  invasions  of  foreigners,  which  took  place  so  frequently 
both  by  sea  and  land,  or  because  that  people  abounded  in 
riches  of  every  kind,  and  so  looked  with  contempt  on  the 
monastic  life.  On  this  account  it  was  that  King  Alfred 
sought  to  gather  monks  of  different  kinds  in  the  same 
monastery. 

94.  Monks  brought  from  beyond  Sea.^  —  First  he  placed 
there  John  ^  the  priest  and  monk,  an  Old  Saxon  by  birth, 
making  him  abbot ;  and  then  certain  priests  and  deacons 
from  beyond  sea.  Finding  that  he  had  not  so  large  a  num- 
ber of  these  as  he  wished,  he  procured  as  many  as  possible 
of  the  same  Grallic  race*;  some  of  whom,  being  children, 
he  ordered  to  be  taught  in  the  same  monastery,  and  at  a 
later  period  to  be  admitted  to  the  monastic  habit.  I  have 
myself  seen  there  in  monastic  dress  a  young  man  of  heathen 
birth  who  was  educated  in  that  monastery,  and  by  no 
means  the  hindmost  of  them  all. 

95.  A  Crime  committed  at  Athelney.^  —  There  was  a  crime 
committed  once  in  that  monastery,  which  I  would  <not>,^ 
by  my  silence,  utterly  consign  to  oblivion,  although  it  is 
an  atrocious  villainy,  for  throughout  the  whole  of  Scripture 

1  Original.  *  Cf.  chap.  78. 

2  Original.  ^  Original. 

8  Cf.  chap.  78.  *  Supplied  by  Stevenson. 


66       THE  PLOT  OF  A  PRIEST  AND  A  DEACON 

the  base  deeds  of  the  wicked  are  interspersed  among  the 
reverend  actions  of  the  righteous,  like  tares  and  cockle 
among  the  wheat.  Good  deeds  are  recorded  that  they  may 
be  praised,  imitated,  and  emulated,  and  that  those  who  pur- 
sue them  may  be  held  worthy  of  all  honor  j  and  wicked 
deeds,  that  they  may  be  censured,  execrated,  and  avoided, 
and  their  imitators  be  reproved  with  all  odium,  contempt, 
and  vengeance. 

96.  The  Plot  of  a  Priest  and  a  Deacon.^  —  Once  upon  a  time, 
a  certain  priest  and  a  deacon,  Gauls  by  birth,  of  the  num- 
ber of  the  aforesaid  monks,  by  the  instigation  of  the  devil, 
and  roused  by  jealousy,  became  so  embittered  in  secret 
against  their  abbot,  the  above-mentioned  John,  that,  after 
the  manner  of  the  Jews,  they  circumvented  and  betrayed 
their  master.  For  they  so  wrought  upon  two  hired  servants 
of  the  same  Gallic  race  that  in  the  night,  when  all  men 
were  enjoying  the  sweet  tranquillity  of  sleep,  they  should 
make  their  way  into  the  church  armed,  and,  shutting  it 
behind  them  as  usual,  hide  themselves  there,  and  wait  till 
the  abbot  should  enter  the  church  alone.  At  length,  when, 
as  was  his  wont,  he  should  secretly  enter  the  church  by 
himself  to  pray,  and,  bending  his  knees,  bow  before  the 
holy  altar,  the  men  should  fall  upon  him,  and  slay  him  on 
the  spot.  They  should  then  drag  his  lifeless  body  out  of 
the  church,  and  throw  it  down  before  the  house  of  a  certain 
harlot,  as  if  he  had  been  slain  whilst  on  a  visit  to  her. 
This  was  their  device,  adding  crime  to  crime,  as  it  is 
said,  '  The  last  error  shall  be  worse  than  the  first.'  ''■  But 
the  divine  mercy,  which  is  always  wont  to  aid  the  inno- 
cent, frustrated  in  great  part  the  evil  design  of  those  evil 
men,  so  that  it  did  not  turn  out  in  all  respects  as  they  had 
planned. 

1  Original.  »  Matt.  27.  64. 


THE  EXECUTION  OF   THE  PLOT  67 

97.  The  Execution  of  the  Plot.^  —  When,  therefore,  the 
whole  of  the  evil  teaching  had  been  explained  by  those 
wicked  teachers  to  their  wicked  hearers,  and  enforced  upon 
them,  the  night  having  come  and  being  favorable,  the  two 
armed  ruffians,  furnished  with  a  promise  of  impunity,  shut 
themselves  up  in  the  church  to  await  the  arrival  of  the 
abbot.  In  the  middle  of  the  night  John,  as  usual,  entered 
the  church  to  pray,  without  any  one's  knowledge,  and 
knelt  before  the  altar.  Thereupon  the  two  ruffians  rushed 
upon  him  suddenly  with  drawn  swords,  and  wounded  him 
severely.  But  he,  being  ever  a  man  of  keen  mind,  and,  as 
I  have  heard  say,  not  unacquainted  with  the  art  of  fighting, 
if  he  had  not  been  proficient  in  better  lore,  no  sooner  heard 
the  noise  of  the  robbers,  even  before  he  saw  them,  than  he 
rose  up  against  them  before  he  was  wounded,  and,  shouting 
at  the  top  of  his  voice,  struggled  against  them  with  all 
his  might,  crying  out  that  they  were  devils  and  not  mei:  — 
and  indeed  he  knew  no  better,  as  he  thought  that  no  men 
would  dare  to  attempt  such  a  deed.  He  was,  however, 
wounded  before  any  of  his  monks  could  come  up.  They, 
roused  by  the  noise,  were  frightened  when  they  heard  the 
word  'devils' ;  being  likewise  unfamiliar  with  such  struggles, 
they,  and  the  two  who,  after  the  manner  of  the  Jews,  were 
traitors  to  their  lord,  rushed  toward  the  doors  of  the  church  ; 
but  before  they  got  there  those  ruffians  escaped  with  all 
speed,  and  secreted  themselves  in  the  fens  near  by,  leaving 
the  abbot  half  dead.  The  monks  raised  their  nearly  lifeless 
superior,  and  bore  him  home  with  grief  and  lamentations ; 
nor  did  those  two  knaves  shed  tears  less  than  the  innocent. 
But  God's  mercy  did  not  allow  so  horrible  a  crime  to  pass 
unpunished  :  the  desperadoes  who  perpetrated  it,  and  all 
who  urged  them  to  it,  were  seized  and  bound ;  then,  by 
1  Original. 


68      ALFRED  DIVIDES  HIS  TIME  AND  REVENUES 

various  tortures,  they  died  a  shameful  death.    Let  us  now 
return  to  our  main  narrative. 

98.  The  Convent  at  Shaftesbury.^  —  Another  ^  monastery 
also  was  built  by  the  aforesaid  king  as  a  residence  for 
nuns,  near  the  eastern  gate  of  Shaftesbury  ;  and  over  it  he 
placed  as  abbess  his  own  daughter  ^thelgivu,  a  virgin 
dedicated  to  God.  With  her  many  other  noble  ladies,  serv- 
ing God  in  the  monastic  life,  dwell  in  that  convent.  These 
two  edifices  were  enriched  by  the  king  with  much  land, 
and  with  all  sorts  of  wealth. 

99.  Alfred  divides  his  Time  and  his  Revenues.'  —  These 
things  being  thus  disposed  of,  the  king  considered  within 
himself,  as  was  his  practice,  what  more  would  conduce  to 
religious  meditation.  What  he  had  wisely  begun  and  use- 
fully conceived  was  adhered  to  with  even  more  beneficial 
result ;  for  he  had  long  before  heard  out  of  the' book  of  the 
law  that  the  Lord*  had  promised  to  restore  to  him  the 
tenth  many  times  over;  and  he  knew  that  the  Lord  had 
faithfully  kept  His  promise,  and  had  actually  restored  to 
him  the  tithe  manyfold.  Encouraged  by  this  precedent, 
and  wishing  to  surpass  the  practice  of  his  predecessors,  he 
vowed  humbly  and  faithfully  to  devote  to  God  half  his 
services,  by  day  and  by  night,  and  also  half  of  all  the 
wealth  which  lawfully  and  justly  came  every  year  into  his 
possession ;  and  this  vow,  as  far  as  human  discretion  can 
perceive  and  keep,  he  skilfully  and  wisely  endeavored  to 
fulfil.  But  that  he  might,  with  his  usual  caution,  avoid 
that  which  Scripture  warns  us  against,  'If  thou  offerest 
aright,  but  dost  not  divide  aright,  thou  sinnest,'  *  he  con- 
sidered how  he  might  divide  aright  that  which  he  had 

1  Original.  s  Original. 

2  Cf .  chap.  92.  *  This  passage  is  somewhat  corrupt, 
fi  Gren.  4.  7,  in  the  old  Latin  version,  following  the  Septuagint. 


DISTRIBUTION  FOR  SECULAR  PURPOSES        59 

joyfully  vowed  to  God;  and  as  Solomon  had  said,  'The 
king's  heart  is  in  the  hand  of  the  Lord '  ^  —  that  is,  his 
counsel  —  he  ordered  with  a  divinely  inspired  policy,  which 
could  come  only  from  above,  that  his  officers  should  first 
divide  into  two  parts  the  revenues  of  every  year. 

100.  The  Threefold  Division  of  Officers  at  Court.^  —  After 
this  division  had  been  made,  he  assigned  the  first  part  to 
worldly  uses,  and  ordered  that  one  third  of  it  should  be 
paid  to  his  soldiers  and  to  his  officers,  the  nobles  who  dwelt 
by  turns  at  court,  where  they  discharged  various  duties,  for 
thus  it  was  that  the  king's  household  was  arranged  at  all 
times  in  three  shifts,^  in  the  following  manner.  The  king's 
attendants  being  wisely  distributed  into  three  companies, 
the  first  company  was  on  duty  at  court  for  one  month, 
night  and  day,  at  the  end  of  which  they  were  relieved  by 
the  second  company,  and  returned  to  their  homes  for  two 
months,  where  they  attended  to  their  own  affairs.  At  the 
end  of  the  second  month,  the  third  company  relieved  the 
second,  who  returned  to  their  homes,  where  they  spent 
two  months.  The  third  company  then  gave  place  to  the 
first,  and  in  their  turn  spent  two  months  at  home.  And  in 
this  order  the  rotation  of  service  at  the  king's  court  was 
at  all  times  carried  on. 

101.  The  Distribution  for  Secular  Purposes.*  —  To  these, 
therefore,  was  paid  the  first  of  the  three  portions  aforesaid, 
to  each  according  to  his  standing  and  peculiar  service  ;  the 
second  to  the  workmen  whom  he  had  collected  from  many 
nations  and  had  about  him  in  large  numbers,  men  skilled 
in  every  kind  of  building;  the  third  portion  was  assigned 

1  Prov.  21. 1.  2  Original. 

*  Cf .  the  Chronicle  under  894 :  '  The  King  had  divided  his  forces 
into  two,  so  that  one  half  was  constantly  at  home,  the  other  half  in  the 
field.'  *  Original. 


60      DISTRIBUTION  FOR  RELIGIOUS  PURPOSES 

to  foreigners  who  came  to  him  out  of  every  nation  far  and 
near ;  whether  they  asked  money  of  him  or  not,  he  cheer- 
fully gave  to  each  with  wonderful  munificence  according 
to  their  respective  worthiness/  exemplifying  what  is 
written,  '  God  loveth  a  cheerful  giver.'  ^ 

102.  The  Distribution  for  Religious  Purposes.'  —  But  the 
second  part  of  all  his  revenues,  wliich  came  yearly  into  his 
possession,  and  was  included  in  the  receipts  of  the  excheq- 
uer, as  I  mentioned  just  above,  he  with  full  devotion  dedi- 
cated to  God,  ordering  his  ofiicers  to  divide  it  carefully  into 
four  equal  parts  with  the  provision  that  the  first  part 
should  be  discreetly  bestowed  on  the  poor  of  every  nation 
who  came  to  him  •,  on  this  subject  he  said  that,  as  far  as 
human  discretion  could  guarantee,  the  remark  of  Pope 
Gregory  on  the  proper  division  of  alms  should  be  followed, 
*  Give  not  little  to  whom  you  should  give  much,  nor  much 
to  whom  little,  nor  nothing  to  whom  something,  nor  some- 
thing to  whom  nothing.'*  The  second  share  to  the  two 
monasteries  which  he  had  built,  and  to  those  who  were 
serving  God  in  them,  as  I  have  described  more  at  length 
above.  The  third  to  the  school  *  which  he  had  studiously 
formed  from  many  of  the  nobility  of  his  own  nation,  but  also 
from  boys  of  mean  condition.  The  fourth  to  the  neighbor- 
ing monasteries  in  all  Wessex  and  Mercia,  and  also  during 
some  years,  in  turn,  to  the  churches  and  servants  of  God 
dwelling  in  Wales,  Cornwall,'  Gaul,''  Brittany,  Northumbria, 

1  Or, '  rank '  (dignitatem),  as  in  line  3  of  the  chapter. 

2  2  Cor.  9.  7.  8  Original. 

*  Incorrectly  quoted  from  the  Pastoral  Care  3.  20 :  '  Ne  qusedam 
quihus  nulla,  ne  nulla  quibus  qusedam,  ne  multa  quibus  pauca,  ne  pauca 
praebeant  quibus  impendere  multa  debuerunt.' 

6  See  chaps.  75  and  76.  ''  See  chaps.  78  and  94. 

8  See  chaps.  74  and' 81. 


ALFRED'S  MEASURE  OF  TIME  61 

and  sometimes,  too,  in  Ireland;  according  to  his  means, 
he  either  distributed  to  them  beforehand,  or  agreed  to 
contribute  afterwards,  if  life  and  prosperity  did  not 
fail  him. 

103.  Alfred's  Dedication  of  Personal  Service.^  —  When  the 
king  had  arranged  all  these  matters  in  due  order,  he  remem- 
bered the  text  of  holy  Scripture  which  says,  '  Whosoever 
will  give  alms,  ought  to  begin  from  himself,'  ^  and  prudently 
began  to  reflect  what  he  could  offer  to  God  from  the  service 
of  his  body  and  mind;  for  he  proposed  to  offer  to  God 
no  less  out  of  this  than  he  had  done  of  external  riches.' 
Accordingly,  he  promised,  as  far  as  his  infirmity  and  his 
means  would  allow,  to  render  to  God  the  half  of  his  serv- 
ices, bodily  and  mental,  by  night  and  by  day,*  voluntarily, 
and  with  all  his  might.  Inasmuch,  however,  as  he  could 
not  distinguish  with  accuracy  the  lengths  of  the  night 
hours  in  any  way,  on  account  of  the  darkness,  nor  fre- 
quently those  of  the  day,  on  account  of  the  thick  clouds 
and  rains,  he  began  to  consider  by  what  regular  means, 
free  from  uncertainty,  relying  on  the  mercy  of  God,  he 
might  discharge  the  promised  tenor  of  his  vow  undeviat- 
ingly  until  his  death. 

104.  Alfred's  Measure  of  Time.*  —  After  long  reflection  on 
these  things,  he  at  length,  by  a  useful  and  shrewd  invention, 
commanded  his  clerks  ®  to  supply  wax  in  sufficient  quantity, 
and  to  weigh  it  in  a  balance  against  pennies.  When  enough 
wax  was  measured  out  to  equal  the  weight  of  seventy -two 

1  Original. 

2  Not  from  the  Bible,  but  from  St.  Augustine's  Enchiridion  de  Fide, 
chap.  20 :  '  Qui  enim  vult  ordinate  dare  eleemosynam,  a  se  ipso  debet 
incipere. ' 

3  Reading  divitiis  for  the  divinis  of  the  text. 

*  Cf.  chap.  99.       5  Original.       ^  Or,  '  chaplains.'    See  p.  41,  note  5. 


62  ALFRED'S  MEASURE  OF  TIME 

pence,  he  caused  the  clerks  to  make  six  candles  thereof,  all 
of  equal  weight,  and  to  mark  off  twelve  inches  as  the 
length  of  each  candle.^  By  this  plan,  therefore,  those  six 
caudles  burned  for  twenty -four  hours,  a  night  and  a  day, 
without  fail,  before  the  sacred  relics  of  many  of  God's 
elect,  which  always  accompanied  him  wherever  he  went. 
Sometimes,  however,  the  candles  could  not  continue  burn- 
ing a  whole  day  and  night,  till  the  same  hour  when  they 
were  lighted  the  preceding  evening,  by  reason  of  the  vio- 
lence of  the  winds,  which  at  times  blew  day  and  night 
without  intermission  through  the  doors  and  windows  "^  of 
the  churches,  the  sheathing,  and  the  wainscot,'  the  numer- 
ous chinks  in  the  walls,  or  the  thin  material  of  the  tents ; 
on  such  occasions  it  was  unavoidable  that  they  should  burn 
out  and  finish  their  course  before  the  appointed  hour.  The 
king,  therefore,  set  himself  to  consider  by  what  means  he 
might  shut  out  the  wind,  and  by  a  skilful  and  cunning 
invention  ordered  a  lantern  to  be  beautifully  constructed 
of  wood  and  ox-horn,  since  white  ox-horns,  when  shaved 
thin,  are  as  transparent  as   a  vessel  of  glass.    Into  this 

^  'As  these  six  candles  weighed  72  pennyweights,  each  one  was  of 
the  weight  of  12d.  The  weight  of  the  OE.  penny  was  22^  Troy  grains, 
so  that  each  candle  would  weigh  roughly  |  oz.  avoirdupois.  As  the 
candles  were  twelve  inches  long,  they  would  be  very  thin  in  proportion 
to  their  length.  A  modern  beeswax  candle  burns  at  a  considerably 
quicker  rate  than  is  here  assumed,  but  we  do  not  think  this  condemns 
the  figures  given  in  this  chapter  as  imaginary.  The  candle  of  Alfred's 
time  was  probably  not  moulded,  and  the  wick  would  not  be  made  of 
cotton,  as  in  the  modern  ones.  Rushes,  tow,  and  the  hards  of  flax  were 
used  for  wicks.  Aldhelm  refers  to  the  use  of  linen  or  flax  wicks,  but 
also  to  those  made  of  rushes.  It  is  therefore  hardly  possible  to  repro- 
duce the  candles  used  by  Alfred  for  the  purpose  of  testing  this  chap- 
ter' (Stevenson). 

2  Reading /ejiesims  for  the  fenestraruni  of  the  text. 

8  Meanings  doubtful. 


HIS  CORRECTION  OF  UNJUST  JUDGES  63 

lantern,  then,  wonderfully  made  of  wood  and  horn,  as  I 
before  said,  a  candle  was  put  at  night,  which  shone  as 
brightly  without  as  within,  and  was  not  disturbed  by  the 
wind,  since  he  had  also  ordered  a  door  of  horn  to  be  made 
for  the  opening  of  the  lantern,^  By  this  contrivance,  then, 
six  candles,  lighted  in  succession,  lasted  twenty-four  hours, 
neither  more  nor  less.  When  these  were  burned  out,  others 
were  lighted. 

105.  Alfred  judges  the  Poor  with  Equity.'^  —  When  all  these 
things  were  properly  arranged,  the  king,  eager  to  hold  to 
the  half  of  his  daily  service,  as  he  had  vowed  to  God,  and 
more  also,  if  his  ability  on  the  one  hand,  and  his  malady 
on  the  other,  would  allow  him,  showed  himself  a  minute 
investigator  of  the  truth  in  all  his  judgments,  and  this 
especially  for  the  sake  of  the  poor,  to  whose  interest,  day 
and  night,  among  other  duties  of  this  life,  he  was  ever 
wonderfully  attentive.  For  in  the  whole  kingdom  the  poor, 
besides  him,  had  few  or  no  helpers ;  for  almost  all  the 
powerful  and  noble  of  that  country  had  turned  their 
thoughts  rather  to  secular  than  to  divine  things  :  each  was 
more  bent  on  worldly  business,  to  his  own  profit,  than  on 
the  common  weal. 

106.  His  Correction  of  Unjust  and  Incompetent  Judges.^  — 
He  strove  also,  in  his  judgments,  for  the  benefit  of  both 

1 '  Ducange  objected  that  horn  lanterns  were  known  to  the  Greeks 
and  Romans  long  before  Alfred's  time.  But  the  passages  adduced  by 
Salmasius,  to  whom  he  refers,  and  such  others  as  we  have  been  able 
to  gather,  do  not  clearly  describe  a  horn  lantern  lit  by  a  candle,  but 
rather  screens  formed  of  horn  to  place  round  oil  lamps.  It  is  possible, 
therefore,  that  Alfred  may  really  be  the  inventor  of  the  horn  lantern 
as  we  know  it.  The  door  in  the  side,  which  would  be  rendered  neces- 
sary by  the  change  of  the  candles  every  four  hours,  is  here  described, 
and  seems  to  be  a  new  feature'  (Stevenson). 

2  Original. 


64  HIS  CORRECTION  OF  UNJUST  JUDGES 

Ms  nobles  and  commons,  who  often  quarreled  fiercely 
among  themselves  at  the  meetings  of  the  ealdormen  and 
sheriffs,  so  that  hardly  one  of  them  admitted  the  justice 
of  what  had  been  decided  by  these  ealdormen  and  sheriffs. 
In  consequence  of  this  pertinacious  and  obstinate  dissen- 
sion, all  felt  constrained  to  give  sureties  to  abide  by  the 
decision  of  the  king,  and  both  parties  hastened  to  carry 
out  their  engagements.  But  if  any  one  was  conscious  of 
injustice  on  his  side  in  the  suit,  though  by  law  and  agree- 
ment he  was  compelled,  however  reluctant,  to  come  for 
judgment  before  a  judge  like  this,  yet  with  his  own  good 
will  he  never  would  consent  to  come.  For  he  knew  that  in 
that  place  no  part  of  his  evil  practice  would  remain  hidden; 
and  no  wonder,  for  the  king  was  a  most  acute  investigator 
in  executing  his  judgments,  as  he  was  in  all  other  things. 
He  inquired  into  almost  all  the  judgments  which  were 
given  in  his  absence,  throughout  all  his  dominion,  whether 
they  were  just  or  unjust.  If  he  perceived  there  was  iniquity 
in  those  judgments,  he  would,  of  his  own  accord,  mildly 
ask  those  judges,  either  in  his  own  person,  or  throiigh 
others  who  were  in  trust  with  him,  why  they  had  judged 
so  unjustly,  whether  through  ignorance  or  malevolence  — 
that  is,  whether  for  the  love  or  fear  of  any  one,  the  hatred 
of  another,  or  the  desire  of  some  one's  money.  At  length, 
if  the  judges  acknowledged  they  had  given  such  judgment 
because  they  knew  no  better,  he  discreetly  and  moderately 
reproved  their  inexperience  and  folly  in  such  terms  as 
these :  '  I  greatly  wonder  at  your  assurance,  that  whereas, 
by  God's  favor  and  mine,  you  have  taken  upon  you  the 
rank  and  office  of  the  wise,  you  have  neglected  the  studies 
and  labors  of  the  wise.  Either,  therefore,  at  once  give  up 
the  administration  of  the  earthly  powers  which  you  possess, 
or  endeavor  more  zealously  to  study  the  lessons  of  wisdom. 


HIS  CORRECTION  OF  UNJUST  JUDGES  65 

Such  are  my  commands.'  At  these  words  the  ealdormen 
and  sheriffs  would  be  filled  with  terror  at  being  thus  severely 
corrected,  and  would  endeavor  to  turn  with  all  their  might 
to  the  study  of  justice,  so  that,  wonderful  to  say,  almost  all 
his  ealdormen,  sheriffs,  and  officers,  though  unlearned  from 
childhood,  gave  themselves  up  to  the  study  of  letters,  choos- 
ing rather  to  acquire  laboriously  an  unfamiliar  discipline 
than  to  resign  their  functions.  But  if  any  one,  from  old  age 
or  the  sluggishness  of  an  untrained  mind,  was  unable  to 
make  progress  in  literary  studies,  he  would  order  his  son, 
if  he  had  one,  or  one  of  his  kinsmen,  or,  if  he  had  no  one 
else,  his  own  freedman  or  servant,  whom  he  had  long  before 
advanced  to  the  office  of  reading,  to  read  Saxon  books 
before  him  night  and  day,  whenever  he  had  any  leisure. 
And  then  they  would  lament  with  deep  sighs  from  their 
inmost  souls  that  in  their  youth  they  had  never  attended  to 
such  studies.  They  counted  happy  the  youth  of  the  present 
day,  who  could  be  delightfully  instructed  in  the  liberal 
arts,  while  they  considered  themselves  wretched  in  that 
they  had  neither  learned  these  things  in  their  youth,  nor, 
now  they  were  old,  were  able  to  do  so.  This  skill  of  young 
and  old  in  acquiring  letters,  I  have  set  forth  as  a  means  of 
characterizing  the  aforesaid  king. 


APPENDIXES 


APPENDIX  I 

Alfred's  Preface  to  his  translation  of  Gregory's 
Pastoral  Care 

THIS  BOOK  IS  FOR  WORCESTER  i 

King  Alfred  bids  greet  Bishop  Wserferth  with  his  words  lov- 
ingly and  with  friendship ;  and  I  let  it  be  known  to  thee  that  it 
has  very  often  come  into  my  mind  what  wise  men  there  formerly 
were  throughout  England,  both  of  sacred  and  secular  orders  ; 
and  what  happy  times  there  were  then  throughout  England  ;  and 
how  the  kings  who  had  power  over  the  nation  in  those  days 
obeyed  God  and  His  ministers ;  how  they  preserved  peace,  morality, 
and  order  at  home,  and  at  the  same  time  enlarged  their  terri- 
tory abroad ;  and  how  they  prospered  both  with  war  and  with 
wisdom;  and  also  how  zealous  the  sacred  orders  were  both  in 
teaching  and  learning,  and  in  all  the  services  they  owed  to  God ; 
and  how  foreigners  came  to  this  land  in  search  of  wisdom  and 
instruction,  and  how  we  should  now  have  to  get  them  from 
abroad  if  we  were  to  have  them.  So  general  was  its  decay  in 
England  that  there  were  very  few  on  this  side  of  the  Humber 
who  could  understand  their  rituals  in  English,  or  translate  a  letter 
from  Latin  into  English ;  and  I  believe  that  there  were  not  many 
beyond  the  Humber.  There  were  so  few  of  them  that  I  cannot 
remember  a  single  one  south  of  the  Thames  when  I  came  to  the 
throne.  Thanks  be  to  Almighty  God  that  we  have  any  teachers 
among  us  now.  And  therefore  I  command  thee  to  do  as  I  believe 
thou  art  willing,  to  disengage  thyself  from  worldly  matters  as  often 
as  thou  canst,  that  thou  mayest  apply  the  wisdom  which  God  has 
given  thee  wherever  thou  canst.  Consider  what  punishments  would 
come  upon  us  on  account  of  this  world,  if  we  neither  loved  it  [wis- 
dom] ourselves  nor  suffered  other  men  to  obtain  it :  we  should  love 

^  The  name  of  the  diocese  and  of  the  bishop  of  course  varied  in 
the  different  copies. 

69 


70  APPENDIX  I 

the  name  only  of  Christian,  and  very  few  the  virtues.  When  I 
considered  all  this,  I  remembered  also  that  I  saw,  before  it  had  been 
all  ravaged  and  burned,  how  the  churches  throughout  the  whole  of 
England  stood  filled  with  treasures  and  books;  and  there  was  also  a 
great  multitude  of  God's  servants,  but  they  had  very  little  knowl- 
edge of  the  books,  for  they  could  not  understand  anything  of  them, 
because  they  were  not  written  in  their  own  language.  As  if  they 
had  said:  '  Our  forefathers,  who  formerly  held  these  places,  loved 
wisdom,  and  through  it  they  obtained  wealth  and  bequeathed  it  to 
us.  In  this  we  can  still  see  their  tracks,  but  we  cannot  follow 
them,  and  therefore  we  have  lost  both  the  wealth  and  the  wisdom, 
because  we  would  not  incline  our  hearts  after  their  example.' 
When  I  remembered  all  this,  I  wondered  extremely  that  the  good 
and  wise  men  who  were  formerly  all  over  England,  and  had  per- 
fectly learned  all  the  books,  had  not  wished  to  translate  them  into 
their  own  lang-uage.  But  again  I  soon  answered  myself  and  said  : 
'  They  did  not  think  that  men  would  ever  be  so  careless,  and  that 
learning  would  so  decay;  through  that  desire  they  abstained  from 
it,  since  they  wished  that  the  wisdom  in  this  land  might  increase 
with  our  knowledge  of  languages.'  Then  I  remembered  how  the 
law  was  first  known  in  Hebrew,  and  again,  when  the  Greeks 
had  learned  it,  they  translated  the  whole  of  it  into  their  own  lan- 
guage, and  all  other  books  besides.  And  again  the  Romans,  when 
they  had  learned  them,  translated  the  whole  of  them  by  learned 
interpreters  into  their  own  language.  And  also  all  other  Christ- 
ian nations  translated  a  part  of  them  into  their  own  language. 
Therefore  it  seems  better  to  me,  if  you  think  so,  for  us  also 
to  translate  some  books  which  are  most  needful  for  all  men  to 
know  into  the  language  which  we  can  all  understand,  and  for 
you  to  do  as  we  very  easily  can  if  we  have  tranquillity  enough, 
that  is,  that  all  the  youth  now  in  England  of  free  men,  who  are 
rich  enough  to  be  able  to  devote  themselves  to  it,  be  set  to 
learn  as  long  as  they  are  not  fit  for  any  other  occupation,  until 
they  are  able  to  read  English  writing  well:  and  let  those  be 
afterwards  taught  more  in  the  Latin  language  who  are  to  con- 
tinue in  learning,  and  be  promoted  to  a  higher  rank.  When  I 
remembered  how  the  knowledge  of  Latin  had  formerly  decayed 
throughout  England,  and  yet  many  could  read  English  writing, 
I  began,  among  other  various  and   manifold   troubles   of   this 


APPENDIX  I  71 

kingdom,  to  translate  into  English  the  book  which  is  called  in 
Latin  Pastoralis,  and  in  English  Shepherd's  Book,  sometimes  word 
by  word,  and  sometimes  according  to  the  sense,  as  I  had  learned  it 
from  Plegmund  my  archbishop,  and  Asser  my  bishop,  and  Grim- 
bald  my  mass-priest,  and  John  my  mass-priest.  And  when  I  had 
learned  it  as  I  could  best  understand  it,  and  as  I  could  most  clearly 
interpret  it,  I  translated  it  into  English;  and  I  will  send  a  copy 
to  every  bishopric  in  my  kingdom;  and  in  each  there  is  a  book- 
mark worth  fifty  mancuses.^  And  I  command  in  God's  name  that 
no  man  take  the  book-mark  from  the  book,  or  the  book  from  the 
monastery.  It  is  uncertain  how  long  there  may  be  such  learned 
bishops  as  now,  thanks  be  to  God,  there  are  nearly  everywhere ; 
therefore  I  wish  them^  always  to  remain  in  their  places,  unless  the 
bishop  wish  to  take  them  with  him,  or  they  be  lent  out  anywhere, 
or  any  one  be  making  a  copy  from  them. 

1  Cf.  p.  11,  note  2.  2  The  books. 


APPENDIX  II 

Letter  from  Fulco,  Archbishop  of  Rheims  and  Primate 
OF  the  Franks,  and  legatus  natus  of  the  Apostolic 
See,  to  Alfred,  the  most  Christian  King  of  the 
Angles^ 

To  Alfred,  the  most  glorious  and  most  Christian  King  of  the 
Angles,  Fulco,  by  the  gi-ace  of  God  Archbishop  of  Rheims,  and 
servant  of  the  servants  of  God,  wisheth  both  the  sceptre  of  tem- 
poral dominion,  ever  triumphant,  and  the  eternal  joys  of  the  king- 
dom of  heaven. 

And  first  of  all  we  give  thanks  to  our  Lord  God,  the  Father 
of  lights,  and  the  Author  of  all  good,  from  whom  is  every  good 
gift  and  every  perfect  gift,  who  by  the  grace  of  His  Holy  Spirit 
hath  not  only  been  pleased  to  cause  the  light  of  His  knowledge 
to  shine  in  your  heart,  but  also  even  now  hath  vouchsafed  to 
kindle  the  fire  of  His  love,  by  which  at  once  enlightened  and 
warmed,  you  earnestly  tender  the  weal  of  the  kingdom  committed 
to  you  from  above,  by  warlike  achievements,  vrtth  divine  assist- 
ance attaining  or  securing  peace  for  it,  and  desiring  to  extend 
the  excellency  of  the  ecclesiastical  order,  which  is  the  army  of 
God.  Wherefore  we  implore  the  divine  mercy  with  unwearied 
prayers  that  He  who  hath  moved  and  warmed  yom*  heart  to  this  ' 

1  From  Rev.  Joseph  Stevenson's  translation  of  The  Book  of  Hyde,  in 
Church  Historians  of  England  (London,  1854),  Vol.  2,  Part  2,  pp.  499- 
503.  The  translator  states  that  the  text  of  the  letter  printed  by  "Wise 
in  his  edition  of  Asser  (see  Stevenson's  edition  of  Asser,  p.  308)  '  has 
been  employed  in  correcting  the  many  obscurities  and  errors  of  the 
copy  inserted  in  the  Liber  de  Hida. '  Of  the  letter  our  editor  says  :  '  It 
.  .  .  seems  to  be  genuine.  There  is  no  conceivable  motive  for  forging 
such  a  letter.  "We  can  discover  no  grounds  for  Pauli's  condemnation 
of  it.  .  .  .  As  Malmesbury,  Gesta  Regum,  c.  122  (p.  130),  states  that 
Grimbald  was  sent  to  Alfred  at  his  request  by  the  Archbishop  of 
Rheims,  he  would  seem  to  have  been  acquainted  with  this  letter.' 

72 


APPENDIX  II  73 

would  give  eifect  to  your  wishes,  by  replenishing  your  desire  with 
good  things,  that  in  your  days  both  peace  may  be  multiplied  to 
your  kingdom  and  people,  and  that  ecclesiastical  order,  which  as 
you  say  hath  been  disturbed  in  many  ways,  either  by  the  con- 
tinued irruptions  and  attacks  of  the  pagans,  or  by  lapse  of  years, 
or  by  the  negligence  of  prelates,  or  by  the  ignorance  of  subjects, 
may  by  your  diligence  and  industry  be  speedily  reestablished, 
exalted,  and  diffused. 

And  since  you  wish  this  to  be  effected  chiefly  through  our 
assistance,  and  since  from  our  see,  over  which  St.  Remigius,  the 
apostle  of  the  Franks,  presides,  you  ask  for  counsel  and  protec- 
tion, we  think  that  this  is  not  done  without  divine  impulse.  And 
as  formerly  the  nation  of  the  Franks  obtained  by  the  same  St. 
Remigius  deliverance  from  manifold  error,  and  the  knowledge  of 
the  worship  of  the  only  true  God,  so  doth  the  nation  of  the  Angles 
request  that  it  may  obtain  from  his  see  and  doctrine  one  by  whom 
they  may  be  taught  to  avoid  superstition,  to  cut  off  superfluities, 
and  to  extirpate  all  such  noxious  things  as  bud  forth  from  vio- 
lated custom  or  rude  habits,  and  may  learn,  while  they  walk 
through  the  field  of  the  Lord,  to  pluck  the  flowers,  and  to  be  upon 
their  guard  against  the  adder. 

For  St.  Augustine,  the  first  bishop  of  your  nation,  sent  to  us 
by  your  apostle  St.  Gregory,  could  not  in  a  short  time  set  forth 
all  the  decrees  of  the  holy  apostles,  nor  did  he  think  proper  sud- 
denly to  burden  a  rude  and  barbarous  nation  with  new  and 
strange  enactments ;  for  he  knew  how  to  adapt  himself  to  their 
infirmities,  and  to  say  with  the  Apostle, '  I  have  given  milk  to  you 
to  drink,  who  are  babes  in  Christ,  and  not  meat '  (1  Cor.  3. 2).  And 
as  Peter  and  James,  who  were  looked  upon  as  pillars  (Gal.  2.  9), 
with  Barnabas  and  Paul,  and  the  rest  who  were  met  together,  did 
not  wish  to  oppress  the  primitive  Church,  which  was  flowing  in 
from  the  Gentiles  to  the  faith  of  Christ,  with  a  heavier  burden 
than  to  command  them  to  abstain  from  things  offered  to  idols, 
and  from  fornication,  and  from  things  strangled,  and  from  blood 
(Acts  15.  29),  so  also  do  we  know  how  matters  were  managed 
with  you  at  the  beginning.  For  they  required  only  this  for  train- 
ing up  the  people  in  the  knowledge  of  God,  and  turning  them  from 
their  former  barbarous  fierceness,  namely,  that  faithful  and  pru- 
dent sei-vants  should  be  placed  over  the  Lord's  household,  who 


74  APPENDIX  II 

should  be  competent  to  give  out  to  each  of  their  fellow-servants 
his  dole  of  food  in  due  season,  that  is,  according  to  the  capacity 
of  each  of  the  hearers.  But  in  process  of  time,  as  the  Christian 
religion  gained  strength,  the  holy  Church  felt  it  neither  to  be  her 
inclination  nor  her  duty  to  be  satisfied  with  this,  but  to  take 
example  from  the  apostles  themselves,  their  masters  and  founders, 
who,  after  the  doctrines  of  the  Gospel  had  been  set  forth  and 
spread  abroad  by  their  heavenly  Master  Himself,  did  not  deem  it 
superfluous  and  needless,  but  convenient  and  salutary,  to  estab- 
lish the  perfect  believers  by  frequent  epistolary  exhortations,  and 
to  build  them  more  firmly  upon  the  solid  foundation,  and  to 
impart  to  them  more  abundantly  the  rule  as  well  of  manners  as 
of  faith. 

Nevertheless,  she  too,  whether  excited  by  adverse  circum- 
stances, or  nourished  by  prosperous  ones,  never  ceased  to  aim  at 
the  good  of  her  children,  whom  she  is  daily  bringing  forth  to  Christ, 
and,  inflamed  by  the  fire  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  promote  their 
advancement,  both  privately  and  publicly.  Hence  the  frequent 
calling  of  councils,  not  only  from  the  neighboring  cities  and 
provinces,  but  also,  in  these  days,  from  regions  beyond  seas ;  hence 
synodal  decrees  so  often  published  ;  hence  sacred  canons,  framed 
and  consecrated  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  by  which  both  the  Catholic 
faith  is  powerfully  strengthened,  and  the  unity  of  the  Church's 
peace  is  inviolably  guarded,  and  its  order  is  decently  regulated: 
which  canons,  as  it  is  unlawful  for  any  Christian  to  transgress, 
so  it  is  altogether  wicked,  in  clerk  and  priest  especially,  to  be 
ignorant  of  them ;  the  wholesome  observance  and  the  religious 
handing  down  of  which  are  things  ever  to  be  embraced.  Seeing 
that,  for  the  reasons  above  stated,  all  these  matters  have  either 
not  been  fully  made  known  to  your  nation,  or  have  now  for  the 
most  part  failed,  it  hath  appeared  fit  and  proper  to  your  Majesty 
and  to  your  royal  wisdom,  by  a  most  excellent  counsel  —  inspired, 
as  we  believe,  from  above  —  both  to  consult  us,  insignificant  as 
we  are,  on  this  matter,  and  to  repair  to  the  see  of  St.  Remigius, 
by  whose  virtues  and  doctrine  the  same  see  or  church  hath  always 
flourished  and  excelled  all  the  churches  of  Gaul  since  his  time 
in  all  piety  and  doctrine. 

And  since  you  are  unwilling  to  appear  before  us,  when  you 
present  these  your  requests,  without  a  gift  and  empty-handed, 


APPENDIX  II  75 

your  Majesty  hath  deigned  to  honor  us  with  a  present  that  is  both 
very  necessary  for  the  time  and  well  suited  to  the  matter  in  hand ; 
concerning  which  we  have  both  praised  heavenly  Providence  with 
admii'ation,  and  have  returned  no  slender  thanks  to  your  royal 
munificence.  For  you  have  sent  unto  us  a  present  of  dogs,  which, 
of  good  and  excellent  breed,  are  yet  only  in  the  body  and  mortal ; 
and  this  you  do  that  they  may  drive  away  the  fury  of  visible 
wolves,  with  which,  among  other  scoui-ges,  wielded  against  us  by 
the  righteous  judgment  of  God,  our  country  abounds;  and  you 
ask  us,  in  return,  that  we  should  send  to  you  certain  watch- 
dogs, not  corporeal,  that  is  to  say,  not  such  as  those  with  whom 
the  prophet  finds  fault,  saying,  '  Dumb  dogs,  not  able  to  bark ' 
(Isa.  56.  10),  but  such  as  the  Psalmist  speaks  of,  '  That  the 
tongue  of  thy  dogs  may  be  red  through  the  same '  (Ps.  68.  23), 
who  know  how  and  are  qualified  to  make  loud  barkings  for 
their  Lord,  and  constantly  to  guard  His  flock  with  most  wakeful 
and  most  careful  watchings,  and  to  drive  away  to  a  distance 
those  most  cruel  wolves  of  unclean  spirits  who  lie  in  wait  to 
devour  souls. 

Of  which  number  you  specially  demand  one  from  us,  namely, 
Grimbald,  priest  and  monk,  to  be  sent  for  this  office,  and  to  pre- 
side over  the  government  of  the  pastoral  charge.  To  whom  the 
whole  Church,  which  hath  nourished  him,  gives  her  testimony 
from  his  childhood,  with  true  faith  and  holy  religion,  and  which 
hath  advanced  him  by  regular  steps,  according  to  ecclesiastical 
custom,  to  the  dignity  of  the  priesthood.  We  affirm  openly  that 
he  is  most  deserving  of  the  honor  of  the  episcopate,  and  that  he 
is  fit  to  teach  others  also.  But  indeed  we  wished  that  this  might 
rather  take  place  in  our  kingdom,  and  we  intended  some  time 
ago,  with  Christ's  permission,  to  accomplish  it  in  due  time,  namely, 
that  he  whom  we  had  as  a  faithful  son  we  might  have  as  an 
associate  in  our  office,  and  a  most  trustworthy  assistant  in  every- 
thing that  pertained  to  the  advantage  of  the  Church.  It  is  not 
without  deep  sorrow  —  forgive  us  for  saying  so  —  that  we  suf- 
fer him  to  be  torn  from  us,  and  be  removed  from  our  eyes  by  so 
vast  an  extent  of  land  and  sea.  But  as  love  has  no  perception 
of  loss,  nor  faith  of  injury,  and  no  remoteness  of  regions  can 
part  those  whom  the  tie  of  unfeigned  affection  joins  together, 
we  have  most  willingly  assented  to  your  request  —  for  to  you  we 


76  APPENDIX  II 

have  no  power  to  refuse  anything  —  nor  do  we  grudge  hiui  to 
you,  whose  advantage  we  rejoice  in  as  much  as  if  it  were  our 
own,  and  whose  profit  we  count  as  ours :  for  we  know  that  in 
every  place  one  only  God  is  served,  and  that  the  Catholic  and 
Apostolic  Chm-ch  is  one,  whether  it  be  at  Rome  or  in  the  parts 
beyond  the  sea. 

It  is  our  duty,  then,  to  make  him  over  to  you  canonically  ;  and 
it  is  your  duty  to  receive  him  reverentially,  that  is  to  say,  in 
such  way  and  mode  as  may  best  conduce  to  the  glory  of  your 
kingdom,  to  the  honor  of  the  Church  and  our  prelacy  ;  and  to 
send  him  to  you  along  with  his  electors,  and  with  certain  nobles 
and  great  personages  of  your  kingdom,  as  well  bishops,  presbyters, 
deacons,  as  religious  laymen  also,  who  with  their  own  lips  promise 
and  declare  to  us  in  the  presence  of  our  whole  church  that  they 
will  treat  him  with  fitting  respect  during  the  whole  course  of  his 
life,  and  that  they  will  inviolably  keep  with  the  strictest  care  the 
canonical  decrees  and  the  rules  of  the  Church,  handed  down  to 
the  Church  by  the  apostles  and  by  apostolic  men,  such  as  they 
could  then  hear  from  us,  and  afterwards  learn  from  him  their 
pastor  and  teacher,  according  to  the  form  delivered  by  us  to  him. 
Which  when  they  shall  have  done,  with  the  divine  blessing  and  the 
authority  of  St.  Remigius,  by  our  ministry  and  the  laying  on  of 
hands,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  Church,  receiving  him  prop- 
erly ordained,  and  in  all  things  fully  instructed,  let  them  conduct 
him  with  due  honor  to  his  own  seat,  glad  and  cheerful  themselves 
that  they  are  always  to  enjoy  his  protection,  and  constantly  to  be 
instructed  by  his  teaching  and  example. 

And  as  the  members  feel  a  concern  for  each  other,  and  when 
even  one  rejoices  they  rejoice  with  it,  or  if  even  one  suffer  all  the 
other  members  sympathize  with  it,  we  again  earnestly  and  spe- 
cially commend  him  to  your  Royal  Highness  and  to  your  most 
provident  goodness,  that  he  may  be  always  permitted,  with  imfet- 
tered  authority,  without  any  gainsaying,  to  teach  and  to  carry 
into  effect  whatever  he  may  discover  to  be  fit  and  useful  for  the 
honor  of  the  Church  and  the  instruction  of  your  people,  according 
to  the  authority  of  the  canons  and  the  custom  of  our  Church,  lest, 
haply  —  which  God  forbid  !  —  any  one,  under  the  instigation  of 
the  devil,  being  moved  by  the  impulse  of  spite  and  malevolence, 
should  excite  controversy  or  raise   sedition   against  him.    But 


APPENDIX  II  77 

should  this  happen,  it  will  be  your  duty  then  to  make  special  pro- 
vision against  this,  and  by  all  means  to  discourage  by  your  royal 
censure  all  such  persons,  if  they  should  chance  to  show  themselves, 
and  check  barbaric  rudeness  by  the  curb  of  your  authority ;  and 
it  wiU  be  his  duty  always  to  consult  for  the  salvation  of  the  people 
committed  to  his  pastoral  skill,  and  rather  to  draw  all  men  after 
him  by  love  than  to  drive  them  by  fear. 

May  you,  most  illustrious,  most  religious,  and  most  invincible 
king,  ever  rejoice  and  flourish  in  Christ  the  Lord  of  lords. 


INDEX 


[The  numbers  refer  to  pages.] 


Aclea,  4 

Adam,  2 

^glea,  78 

^Ifthryth,  37,  38 

^lla,  16 

^thelbald,  4,  6,  7,  11,  12 

^thelbert,  12,  13 

^thelflsed,  37 

^thelgivu,  37,  58 

JEthelhelm,  48 

^thelred  (King  of  Wessex),  13, 
18,  19,  20,  21,  22 

^thelred(Alfred'sfather-in-law), 
17. 

^thelred  (Alfred's  son-in-law), 
37,  44,  45,  47 

JEthelstan  (under-king  of  Kent),  4 

^thelstan  (priest),  41 

^thelward,  37 

^thelwulf  (King  of  Wessex),  1,2, 
4,  6,  6,  7,  10,  11,  33 

^thelwulf  (Ealdorman  of  Berk- 
shire), 12,  19 

Alemanni,  34 

Alfred,  1,  and  passim 

AUer,  29 

Anarawd,  45 

Angles,  19,  47,  72.  See  also  East 
Angles 

Anglo-Saxons,  1,  8,  13,  31,  32,  34, 
35, 47, 48.  See  also  East  Saxons, 
Saxons,  South  Saxons,  West 
Saxons 

Anwind,  25 


Armorica,  34.    See  also  Brittany 

Arnolf,  47,  48 

Ashdown,  20,  22 

Ash's  Hill,  20 

Asser,  1,  [8,  10,  13-15,  17,  20,  21, 

27,   34,   35,  42-46,  48,  49,  61, 

52],  71 
Athelney,  28,  29,  54 
Augustine,  73 
Avon,  26 

Bagsecg,  22 

Banwell,  46 

Barnabas,  73 

Basing,  22 

Beaw,  2 

Bedwig,  2 

Beldeag,  2 

Beorhtric,  8,  9 

Beorhtwulf,  3 

Berengar,  48 

Berkshire,  1,  12,  19 

Berroc  Wood,  1 

Brecknock,  44 

Bretons,  39 

Britain,  1,  13,  26,  31,  32 

British,  3 

Brittany,  60.    See  also  Armorica 

Brockmail,  44 

Brond,  2 

Burgred,  4,  5,  18,  24 

Cserwent,  43 
Cairceri,  30 


79 


80 


INDEX 


Cairwisc,  26 

Cambridge,  25 

Canterbury,  3,  18,  41 

Carloman,  33 

Ceawlin,  1 

Ceolnoth,  18 

Ceolwald,  1 

Ceolwulf,  25,  26 

Ceorl,  3 

Cerdic,  1,  3 

Charlemagne,  Charles  (the  Great), 
9,  34 

Charles  (the  Bald),  6,  11,  33,  34, 
67 

Charles  (the  Fat),  47,  48 

Charles  (son  of  Louis  the  Ger- 
man), 34 

Ch^zy,  47,  48 

Chippenham,  5,  26,  30 

Cirencester,  30,  31 

Coenred,  1 

Coit  Maur,  28 

Cond^,  32 

Congresbury,  46 

Cornwall,  35,  46,  60 

Creoda,  1 

Cutha,  1 

Cuthwine,  1 

Cynric,  1,  3 

Cynwit,  27 


Eald-Seaxum,  33 

Ealhere,  4,  6 

Ealhmuud,  1 

Ealhstan,  6,  17 

Eanwulf,  6 

East  Angles,  18 

East  Anglia,  13, 16, 18, 19,  31, 32, 
33,  34 

East  Frankland,  31,  32.  See  also 
Frankland 

East  Saxons,  13.  See  also  Anglo- 
Saxons,  Saxons,  South  Saxons, 
West  Saxons 

Edington,  28 

Edmund,  18 

Edward,  37,  38 

Egbert,  1 

Egbert's  Stone,  28 

Elesa,  1 

Elias,  52 

England,  69,  70 

Englefield,  19 

English,  19,  69,  70,  71 

Enoch,  2 

Enosh,  2 

Eoppa,  1 

Esla,  1 

Essex,  3 

Exanceastre,  26 

Exeter,  26,  46 


Danes,   [3-5,  12,  13,   16-34, 

46,  47,  55] 
Danube,  13 
David,  2 
Dene,  42,  62 
Devon,  3,  27 
Dorubernia,  3 
Durugueir,  25 
Dyfed,  27,  44 

Eadburh,  8,  9,  17 
Eafa,  1 


Fernmail,  44 

Finn, 2 

Fraena,  22 

Frankland,  31,  32,  60.    See  also 

East  Frankland 
Franks,  6,  7,  9,  11,  31,  33,  34,  89, 

47,  68,  72,  73,  77.     See  also 

West  Franks 
Frealaf,  2 
Freawine,  1 
Freothegar,  1 
Frisians,  33,  39 


INDEX 


81 


Frithowald,  2 
Frithuwulf,  2 
Froom,  25 
Fulco,  72 
Fulham,  31 

Gaini,  17 

Gallic,  55,  56 

Gaul,  26,  28,  42,  60,  74 

Gauls,  34,  39,  56 

Geata,  2 

Germanic,  8 

Germany,  33 

Geta,  2 

Gewis,  1 

Ghent,  31 

Glywyssing,  44 

Godwulf ,  2 

Goths,  3 

Great  Forest,  28 

Greeks,  70 

Gregory   (the  Great),   41,  60, 

73 
Grimbald,  42,  71,  75 
Gueriir,  35 
Guthrum,  25 
Gwent,  44 

Halfdene,  25,  26,  27 
Hampshire,  12,  28 
Harold,  22 
Hathra,  2 
Hebrew,  70 
Hebrews,  40 
Helised,  44 
Hemeid,  44 
Heremod,  2 
Hingwar.    See  Inwar 
Howel,  44 
Hud  a,  5 
Humber,  16,  69 
Hwala,  2 
Hwicce,  31 


Ine,  1 
Ingild,  1 
Inwar,  27 
Ireland,  52,  61 
Irish,  39 
Itermod,  2 

James  (the  apostle),  73 

Jared,  2 

Jerusalem,  52 

Jews,  56,  57 

John  (the  Old  Saxon),  42,  55,  56, 

57,  71 
Judith,  6,  7,  11,  33,  34,  36 
Jutes,  3 

Kenan,  2 

Kennet,  19 

Kent,  3,  4,  5,  12,  13,  32 

Lamech,  2 

Latin,  17,  19,  26,  28,  37, 69,  70,  71 

Leo  (IV),  5 

Leonaford,  45 

Lindsey,  24 

Lombardy,  48 

London,  3,  24,  47 

Louis  (the  Pious),  34 

Louis  (the  German),  34 

Louis  (the  Stammerer),  33 

Louis  (III),  33 

Mahalalel,  2 

Marinus,  34 

Marne,  47 

Martin,  50 

Medway,  32 

Mercia,  3,  4,  8,  17,  18,  24,  26,  36, 

37,  41,  47,  60 
Mercian,  17,  36,  41 
Mercians,  4, 5, 18, 24, 26, 41, 44, 45 
Methuselah,  2 
Meuse,  31 


82 


INDEX 


Middlesex,  3 
Mid-Wales,  4 
Mouric,  44 
Mucin,  17 

Neot,  35 

Noah,  2 

Nobis,  44 

Northumbria,  17,  18,  24,  25,  26, 

61 
Northumbrian,  10 
Northumbriaus,  16,  45 
Nottingham,  17,  18 

Odo,  48 
Offa,  8 

Old  Saxon,  55 
Old  Saxons,  33,  34 
Osbern,  22 
Osbert,  16 
Osburli,  2 
Oscytel,  25 
Oslac,  2 
Osric,  12 

Paris,  46,  47,  48 
Paul,  11,  73 
Pavia,  10 
Pepin,  34 
Peter,  11,  41,  73 
Picts,  25 
Plegmund,  41,  71 

Beading,  19 

Remigius,  73,  74,  76 

Repton,  24,  25 

Rheims,  72 

Rhine,  48 

Rhodri,  44,  45 

Ris,  44 

Rochester,  32 

Romans,  70 

Rome,  1,  5,  6,  7,  10, 11,  24,  48,  76 


Rudolf,  48 
Ruim,  5 

St.  Davids,  44 

Sandwich,  4 

Saxon,  5,  7,  13,  14,  25,  26,  32,  33, 
37,  38,  41,  42,  46 

Saxon  Colony,  24,  34 

Saxons,  4,  9,  23,  24,  32,  33,  47,  48. 
See  also  Anglo-Saxons,  East 
Saxons,  Old  Saxons,  South 
Saxons,  West  Saxons 

Sceaf,  2 

Sceldwea,  2 

Scheldt,  32 

Sedulius,  2 

Seine,  46,  47 

Selwood  (Forest),  6,  28 

Seth,  2 

Severn,  42 

Shaftesbury,  58 

Sheppey,  3,  6 

Sherborne,  6,  12,  17 

Sidroc  the  Elder,  22 

Sidroc  the  Younger,  22 

Solomon,  40,  59 

Somerset(shire),  6,  27,  28 

South  Saxons,  42.  See  also  Anglo- 
Saxons,  East  Saxons,  Saxons, 
West  Saxons 

South  Wales,  44 

Stour,  33 

Strathclyde,  25 

Stuf,  3 

Surrey,  4,  5,  12 

Sussex,  12,  42 

Taetwa,  2 

Tarrant,  25 

Tenet,  5.    See  also  Thanet 

Teudubr,  44 

Thames,  3,  4,  19,  31,  69 

Thanet,  12.    See  also  Tenet 


indj:x 


83 


Thetford,  18 
Thornsseta,  25 
Tigguocobauc,  17 
Tyne,  25 
T^rrliene  Sea,  34,  52 

Waerferth,  69.    See  also  "Werfrith 

Wales,  4,  8,  43,  44,  60.  See  also 
Mid- Wales,  South  Wales,  West- 
ern Wales 

Wantage,  1 

Wareham,  25 

Wedmore,  29 

Welsh,  1,  5,  17,  25,  26,  28,  30,  39 

Werfrith,  41.    See  also  Wserferth 

Werwulf,  41 

Wessex,  7,  8,  42,  44,  46,  60.  See 
also  West  Saxon (s) 

Western  Wales,  42 

West  Franks,  33,  34,  46 

West  Saxon,  13 


West  Saxons,  1,  4,  5,  8,  12,  13, 
15,  18,  19,  33,  41.  See  also 
Anglo-Saxons,  East  Saxons, 
Saxons,  South  Saxons,  Wessex 

Wicganbeorg,  3 

Wido,  48 

Wig,  1 

Wight,  Isle  of,  3 

Wihtgar,  3 

Wihtgaraburg,  3 

Wiley,  23 

Wilton,  23 

Wiltshire,  26,  28,  48 

Wimborne  Minster,  22 

Winchester,  11,  12 

Wise,  26 

Woden,  2 

Worcester,  41 

Yonne,  47 
York,  16,  18 


(o^^  ^ 


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